Girard moves to replace Glendale Avenue bridge

By SARAH LEHR

slehr@vindy.com

GIRARD

The Glendale Avenue bridge, which once guided more than 500 vehicles a day to U.S. Route 422, now sits rusted and unused.

City council has begun the process to get a new span. The bridge closed in January when the city deemed it unsafe.

City council passed legislation Monday evening allowing the director of public service to advertise for bids for the bridge’s replacement. Councilman Stephen Brooks, D-1st, said, “People have been asking if the bridge could be opened up for walking. Unfortunately, with the state it’s in now, that’s a liability concern.”

Estimated costs for the four options presented to council range from $290,1000 to $370,000, said city Engineer Gary Diorio.

The options and their estimated total costs are: installing a precast concrete bridge system ($340,000); relining the bridge’s current culvert ($291,000); replacing the bridge’s culvert ($344,000); and installing a prefabricated bridge ($370,000).

To cover the project’s costs, the city hopes to receive grants from sources such as the Ohio Department of Transportation’s Municipal Bridge Program, the Ohio Bridge Partnership Program and the Ohio Public Works Commission.

The bridge opened in 1953. “It had about a 60-year life span, which is a pretty standard life expectancy for a bridge,” Brooks said.

Brooks said he hopes the new bridge will open by September 2016. “I’d like to see the [high-school] cross-country team running on it,” he said.