Contract awarded to finish bridge job

Groundbreaking for the Lakeshore sewer project is now estimated for late summer or early fall.
By ED RUNYAN
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- The troubled rehabilitation project for the historic Newton Falls covered bridge took a step forward Wednesday.
Trumbull County commissioners awarded a contract for 985,000 to The Righter Co. of Columbus to complete the work started by BECDIR Construction of Berlin Center.
Randy Smith, deputy county engineer, said the project is about 31 percent complete. It began in July 2005 and was delayed at different times because of disputes between the county engineer's office and BECDIR.
The bridge, on Arlington Street, was built in 1831 and is the second-oldest covered bridge in Ohio. It is the last covered bridge in Ohio still being used in its original location.
Commissioners awarded BECDIR a contract in 2005 for 828,000 to replace the siding, roof, deck planking, floor beams, sidewalk members and 18 of the 78 timbers on the sides of the bridge.
The project was originally supposed to be completed in spring 2006. BECDIR last worked on the project in August 2006, and the county terminated its contract with BECDIR in October 2006.
BECDIR has a pending lawsuit against the county regarding the project in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court.
Smith told commissioners Wednesday that a contract with Righter has not been signed. When the contract is in place, Righter will be expected to complete the work within seven months.
A 1.06 million federal construction grant obtained in 2002 through the County Engineers Association of Ohio is paying for the work.
Other business
In other business, commissioners approved detailed sewer drawings for the Lakeshore Drive Sanitary Sewer Improvements Project on the western edge of Mosquito Lake in Bazetta Township.
Gary Newbrough, county sanitary engineer, said the drawings will be submitted to the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, which usually approves them in 30 days. Project approval is still needed from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, he added.
That would allow the project to serve about 60 properties on Lakeshore and West Lake drives to begin in late summer or early fall, Newbrough said.
runyan@vindy.com