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Who’s responsible for lights on Girard-McDonald bridge?
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At twilight on a recent night, the city of Girard sits beyond the Girard-McDonald Viaduct, where a portion of the lights are out. There is a question on which governmental agency Ñ Girard or Trumbull County Ñ is responsible for maintenance of the lights. The city is making inquiries to figure it out.
By LINDA M. LINONIS
GIRARD
The span on West Liberty Street going from Girard toward McDonald is a bridge over muddled waters, figuratively speaking.
Lights have been out since August or so, possibly knocked out by a storm.
Now, about half of the lights are back on, and nobody knows how. They are the ones first encountered on the bridge as motorists travel on it from the city to the village.
The question is: What governmental agency is responsible for upkeep of the lights on what is officially known as the Girard- McDonald Viaduct?
On Tuesday, Mayor James J. Melfi sent a letter to Trumbull County commissioners asking them to look into who is responsible for the bridge lighting.
Melfi said he was originally contacted by a concerned citizen about safety issues on the dark bridge. The resident mentioned fog clouding the bridge, and how it could obscure visibility for regular traffic and school buses.
“The city doesn’t pay the electric bill and doesn’t maintain the bridge ... and never has,” Melfi said. He added that bridges are the responsibility of Trumbull County government.
Jerry Lambert, city service director, said he has contacted the appropriate county officials and Ohio Edison. Lambert said he did want to straighten out exactly who should be notified if there is another such problem.
What’s surprising is that this is the first time the issue has surfaced. Melfi and Lambert, who both have been in city government since the 1980s, said they don’t recall ever having a problem with the viaduct lights.
If the lights hadn’t gone out, there wouldn’t be a question of who is responsible. All of the viaduct is in Girard.
It’s not as easy as looking at an Ohio Edison account number and the billing. Lambert said the city has several accounts with Ohio Edison, and the city auditor is examining them.
He and the mayor said the city pays the electric bill for certain lighting including decorative lights from Church Hill to Morris.
What Mefli and Lambert find puzzling is that there is no paperwork on who is responsible for the viaduct lights.
Lambert offered this comparison: Lighting on a part of the 711 connector that is in Girard (approximately from Gypsy Lane to I-80 East exit).
“We are responsible for maintenance and repair of lights on that stretch,” he said.
Melfi and Lambert noted that when the old bridge was demolished and the new viaduct built in the late 1980s, it was the county’s project.
“My opinion is that the lights are the county’s responsibility,” Lambert said. But if it turns out that is not the case, he and the mayor want to define the city’s responsibility and have it in writing.
David DeChristofaro, Trumbull County engineer, said bridges on state roads are the responsibility of the state; all others in the county would fall under Trumbull County jurisdiction. He defined responsibility as maintaining the surface of the road and the supporting structure.
Robin Patton, area manager of Ohio Edison, said the company was contacted by the city. “We determined they are customer-owned lights,” she said. But who owns them, the county or city, was not discernable.
“We went as far as we could go,” she said. “We don’t have information on what arrangements were made when the lights were installed.”
Trumbull County commissioners could not be reached to comment.