City officials are continuing to prepare for a major repaving project that is expected to start this spring and last through the end of 2022.
Middletown voters approved a 0.25% increase to the city income tax for the next 10 years that is expected to raise $3.13 million per year for repaving. The city plans to leverage those revenues by selling more than $31.3 million in April so the city can go on a paving blitz of 176 lane miles of city streets and roads, according to Shelby Quinlivan, city spokeswoman.
Quinlivan said the city is finalizing the list of streets and roads to be repaired and repaved as part of the project before the city solicits requests for proposals.
Scott Tadych, public works and utilities director, said the city has hired a consultant to collect more research and data, including using special equipment to determine the pavement thickness. He said this will help to determine how much paving material needs to be used.
“We’re not doing an overlay,” Tadych said. “We expect to grind and mill the streets before putting down the needed amount of asphalt.”
Tadych said two companies submitted responses to the request for information. He said a request for proposals will be sent out in the coming weeks.
“We’re really excited about this project,” he said.
The city maintains more than 621 lane miles of roadway, and 59% are rated as being in excellent, good or fair condition, according the latest Pavement Condition Index last done in 2017. The remaining 41% are rated as being in poor, very poor or failed conditions, according to Tadych.
The cost to repave all city streets is about $160 million. He said the cost per lane mile to pave streets is between $125,000 and $250,000, depending on the street’s condition.
City officials said the criteria for paving streets include the pavement condition, traffic volume, safety concerns, current maintenance costs, utility considerations and complaints.
Middletown City Council approved spending more than $3.95 million in the 2021 general fund budget, Ohio Public Works Commission and other city funds to pave nearly 20 streets and roads in 2021. That comes on top of the amount generated by the tax increase.
Last month, council also approved the Ohio Department of Transportation’s 2021 Urban Paving Program which will pave Ohio 73 from Germantown Road to the northeast city limits. The estimated cost of the project is $2.56 million with ODOT funding $1.7 million and the city funding $860,000.
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