ASHLAND — By the end of 2020, the city of Ashland will see approximately $2.74 million in road repairs completed and paid for by local and matching dollars, according to Mayor Matt Miller.
At its regular Tuesday meeting, Ashland City Council approved $510,215 for what’s expected to be the last grouping of streets designated to be repaved this year.
This funding allows resurfacing projects to take place on Smith Road, Highland Boulevard, Cooper Drive, West 14th Street and a small portion of Wells Road.
These roads join a list that had already included the US 250 bypass, West 10th Street, East 8th Street, Union Street and another portion of Wells Road.
“This year, as promised, we’re our local street income tax dollars as leverage to secure additional state dollars. This allows us to put down more pavement in the city of Ashland, beyond what we’d be able to afford on our own,” Miller said.
It’s a record breaking year for spending on new pavement, he continued. It’s possible only because local dollars were used to secure grants and other state-level matching dollars.
If bids for the latest list of projects come back lower than anticipated, two alternative streets may also be paved. These are Blossom Lane and Carriage Hill Court.
In May, Ashland City Council passed legislation allowing less than $150,000 to repave West 10th Street from Cottage to Troy streets, East 8th Street from Union Avenue to the dead end and Union Avenue from East 8th to Orange streets.
All were characterized by “deteriorated and in need of repair” in the ordinance. A significant portion of this project will be covered by a grant.
And in early April, Ashland City Council approved a collaboration with the Ohio Department of Transportation for resurfacing the US 250 bypass between the Ashland northern corporation limit and US 42, and State Route 58 between US 250 and the Ashland northern corporation limit.
The city will contribute approximately $500,000 to the project, while ODOT covers the remaining cost of the $1.3 million project.
Further, the construction of the Wells Road extension also was already approved for the 2020 budget. The city’s share will be approximately $450,000. The total project is expected to cost about $945,000, which is offset by three grants.
Funding for street projects is expected to continue into the future, as Ashland’s city residents overwhelmingly approved continuing the 5-year, 0.25 percent income tax for road repair and maintenance in April.
This levy had generated $4.8 million in the past four years, and through a strategy of leveraging the dollars to acquire additional in-state funding, it allowed the city of Ashland to spend $6.3 million on road repairs in that time.
