The repaving of East 25th Street has moved ahead of schedule.
A fresh layer of asphalt is being placed on the 5.5 miles of East 25th stretching from the Columbus city limits east to State Road 9. The cost of the year’s largest overlay project is $2.23 million, with 50% paid with a state Community Crossings matching grant.
The original schedule called for an inch-and-a-half of the old blacktop to be milled away by Monday, county highway engineer Danny Hollander said. But crews from Milestone Contractors began to put down the new blacktop on one side of the project while milling was being completed on the other side.
On Tuesday morning, both lanes of East 25th Street had a fresh layer of asphalt from the intersection with State Road 9 west to the bridge crossing Clifty Creek.
“The paving crew was given a couple of days head start,” Bartholomew County Highway engineer Danny Hollander. “I suspect we will have the repaving done by the end of the week.”
However, progress could be slowed down with a 40% chance of thunderstorms Thursday, with a lesser chance of scattered showers or light rain at various times into Thursday night.
In addition, crews from Milestone Contractors Inc. will need a short time after repaving is completed to permanently stripe the road, as well as apply a sealer to extend the life of the new asphalt, Hollander said.
East 25th Street is considered one of the three busiest county roads, Hollander said. He said he wants to get permanent striping on the road as soon as possible.
A separate contract with Force Construction Co. will be used to upgrade the concrete bridge over Clifty Creek on East 25th Street. Their accepted proposal was $266,725, which is 57% higher than the engineer’s estimate of $170,000.
But a week after Force was approved as the contractor, a contract had not yet been prepared, Hollander said Monday. Traditionally, timetables are worked out after the contract is signed by both parties.
When the Bartholomew County commissioners first began discussing work on the bridge several months ago, they expressed safety concern if vehicles are rerouted onto County Road 50N.
If that becomes the preferred detour, traffic can leave from or return to East 25th Street on County Road 650E east of the bridge, and on County Road 500E west of the bridge. However, 500E goes through or near well-populated subdivisions including Clifty Farms, Creekview and Highland Ridge.
To avoid lower speeds and children playing, many westbound motorists prefer to stay on County Road 50N all the way to U.S. 31 (National Road), the commissioners said during an earlier meeting.
The concern is Clifty Creek Elementary School on Road 50 N, which resumes classes on Thursday, Aug. 3. When a similar detour was utilized in an earlier project, a number of concerned parents and school officials said blending detoured vehicles with regular school traffic puts both drivers and children in a potentially dangerous environment.
At this time, it hasn’t been determined if the bridge will need to be completely closed and a detour will be necessary. If one lane of the bridge can remain open at all times, that lessens the danger near the school. However, a one-lane bridge means drivers will either have to find alternative routes or give themselves extra time to get their children to school.
The contract calls for the bridge work to be completely no later than the end of September, Hollander said.
