ODOT CONTRACT Mayor blasts work on paving project

The finished asphalt layer is peeling away from the base, city officials note.
By TIM YOVICH
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
HUBBARD -- Mayor Arthur U. Magee says he won't approve a nearly $1 million state road resurfacing project.
"It's not acceptable. You wouldn't accept it if it was your driveway, and I won't," Magee said.
The project involves the repaving of West Liberty Street (state Route 304), from the square to Jacobs Road; East Liberty Street, from downtown to the city limits; and North Main Street (state Route 7 and 62), from the square to the city limits.
The Ohio Department of Transportation has an $896,312 contract with Shelly Co. of Thornville for the work. The city has paid $144,002 as the local share.
The asphalt has been placed on the streets and the roadways have been striped.
Project deficiencies
Magee; Albert Patrick, service director; and Paul Collins, street superintendent, point to what they believe are project deficiencies.
They call attention to 27 water boxes, which hold the water shutoff valves, that were initially paved over and others that need to be raised so they are even with the road surface.
Also, they draw attention to manhole covers that are crooked or need to be raised, business entrances that are not paved and catch basins that need to be raised or asphalt around them needing to be .
The deficiencies, the city officials say, make for a sometimes jarring ride.
In addition, they point to a rubberized asphalt finish layer that is already peeling off the base layer after being down for less than a month. And the seams in the finish layer aren't aligned and in some areas have raised waves.
Collins said the rubberized coat on a portion of North Main was put down "in a pouring rain." He also asserted that the temperature was not at the required minimum 75 degrees.
Magee said he believes that Shelly and Geraldine Patton, ODOT's on-site project manager, are responsible for the problems.
Patton responded that the project isn't completed, and referred all other questions to ODOT's public information section.
Steve Conklin, Shelly's regional manager in Twinsburg, said Shelly basically works for ODOT. He suggested the city communicate its concerns to ODOT. The company will make any repairs to the project when instructed to do so by the state, he said.
Jennifer Richmond, spokeswoman for ODOT's District 4 in Akron, said money used for the project came from dollars earmarked by the state for resurfacing projects in cities.
ODOT doesn't maintain state routes inside city limits, she said, and the city is responsible for these routes and the city's utilities. Some manholes covers were repaired, Richmond said, to make them even with the surface -- but they aren't the state's responsibility. The manhole cover repairs were not in the project plan, she said.
Magee argues that he had three meetings with ODOT officials before construction began and was told the manhole covers and water boxes were not the city's responsibility.
Nonetheless, the mayor asserted, the city marked the covers and boxes that needed to be raised. However, 27 of the boxes were paved over by Shelly and then uncovered and raised when the city complained.
"Why did they fix them if they're not responsible?" Magee questioned.
Richmond said the asphalt that is peeling off the surface was caused by vehicles prematurely using the roadway. It will be corrected, she said, adding that the total project has not been approved by ODOT.
If Magee has concerns, he needs to bring them to the attention of ODOT, she added.
Notifying ODOT
Magee has sent ODOT a two-page list of deficiencies.
"This is where I feel I'm responsible," Magee said, asserting the project "is a bad job."
If the work isn't made right, the mayor said, he will turn the complaints over to the law director for action.
yovich@vindy.com