More than 10 miles of streets in Columbus have already or will soon receive new blacktop this year.
That’s not bad, considering that only four-and-a-half miles of pavement were added to this year’s overlay project.
Nearly six miles of street improvement projects being undertaken this year received funding in 2019 through the state’s Community Crossings matching grant program. However, the financial award wasn’t announced until October, and the money wasn’t deposited until after the first of the year.
That was weeks after local asphalt plants closed for the year, executive director of public works and city engineer Dave Hayward said.
The timing left the city no choice but to wait until spring to seek bids for the late 2019 projects, Hayward said. “We’ve spent the first six months of this year doing last year’s work in a lot of cases,” he said.
The largest project undertaken this year was a 2019 carry-over currently under construction, Hayward said. That $804,000 undertaking provides improvements to 10th Street, from Gladstone Avenue to National Road.
“We are replacing a lot of curb along there,” Hayward said. “It’s about a 40-year-old road that is starting to show its age.”
In terms of new projects on this year’s overlay list, two contractors submitted proposals.
D.C. Construction Services Inc. of Indianapolis was the apparent low bidder at $1,380,162, while Milestone Contractors of Columbus offered to do the work for $1,527,725.
However, Hayward asked and received time from the Board of Works to study both of the proposals to ensure both proposals meet the city’s needs.
Of the 15 stretches of streets on this year’s list, the two largest projects are the repaving of the entire Countryside Addition, as well as River Road, from Rocky Ford Road to just north of Riverside Drive.
Besides stretches of streets, other projects designated as part of the overlay program include milling the approach to Riverside Drive, repaving the intersection of 37th Street and Woodfield Place, and doing patchwork at the approach to Mission Drive.
Although the contract for this year’s overlay project calls for all work to be completed no later than Oct. 1, Hayward says road crews face a lot of variables that could delay a paving project.
“We’re more interested in getting the job done right than getting it done on time,” Hayward said. “If we have to, we’re willing to wait a little longer.”
While determining which roads need immediately repairs when compared to others, Hayward said he and his staff analyze cracking in the pavement as a way to determine the worst damage and prioritize projects.
Since the city does not plan to have another phase of overlay this year, the list of 2020 projects is largely based on the amount of money immediately available for street repairs.
When asked about material costs, Hayward said asphalt was a little less expensive per ton than it was last year. However, he adds the cost remains considerably higher than it was just three to four years ago.
One of the key factors that resulted in higher asphalt prices was competition. Due to the good economy, many private companies were hiring the limited amount of road construction firms at a higher price than local governments could pay, Bartholomew County Highway engineer Danny Hollander said earlier this year.
In addition, Indiana’s gas tax was raised in 2017 by 10 cents per gallon, generating an estimated $1.2 billion for the state to fund highway and road improvements. That means local governments in all 92 counties, as well as the Indiana Dept. of Transportation, are all competing for both contractors and supplies, Hollander said.
“We’ll have to see if that’s going to continue into 2021 in light of the COVID issues,” Hayward said.
[sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”2020 overlay project” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
The following are new projects in the city of Columbus’ 2020 overlay program.
Countryside Addition (3,156 ft.)
14th St., from Lafayette to Sycamore (720 ft.)
Norwood Court, from Norwood Drive to terminus (456 ft.)
Cottonwood Court North, from Cottonwood Drive to terminus (456 ft.)
Cottonwood Court South, from Cottonwood Drive to terminus (192 ft.)
Fairfax Drive, from Muriel to Middle Road (1,695 ft.)
River Road, from Rocky Ford Road to 50-feet north of Riverside Drive (4,450 ft.)
Woodfield Place, from Rocky Ford Road to 37th St. (1,320 ft.)
Cunningham Drive, from 500-feet east of North Warren Drive to Central Avenue (1,285 ft.)
Sycamore Drive, from Sycamore Court to Willow (1,125 ft.)
Hawcreek Avenue, from 17th St. to 25th St. (2,615 ft.)
Chapel Drive, from Flintwood Dr. to Fairlawn Dr. (1,970 ft.)
Cedar Ridge Drive, from 2540 Cedar Ridge to terminus (260 ft.)
Butternut Pond, from Coles Drive to Coles Drive (786 ft.)
Coles Drive, from Tipton Lakes Blvd to Carr Hill Road (2,340 ft.)
Other projects include milling the approach to Riverside Drive, repaving the intersection of 37th St. and Woodfield Place, and doing patchwork at the approach to Mission Drive.
[sc:pullout-text-end]
