MANSFIELD, Ohio–The Richland County Engineer’s Office is on course for another busy year, as indicated by the county engineer’s annual report. Tom Beck, county engineer, discussed the annual report with the county commissioners Tuesday morning during the commissioners’ regular meeting.
Beck started off by reviewing last year’s projects, noting that the department facilitated the replacement of seven bridges and the leveling and seal-coating of over 43 miles of highways. Seven bridge replacements is less than the average number of replacements in a year, Beck said. “We’ve been averaging nine to 10 bridges a year,” he said.
However, this year, they intend to replace 12 bridges, four of which will be replaced in partnership with the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT). The four replacements will be 100 percent funded by ODOT. Another five bridge replacements will be completely funded by ODOT the following year.
Beck said, “This is work that ODOT isn’t actually obligated to do, but they saw the extreme need for counties to replace bridges, so they are stepping to the plate and doing it, and we are receiving a total of nine bridges.”
Having that assistance is extremely beneficial, as the engineer’s office is responsible for maintaining 359 bridges. Beck said that there are currently 68 bridges in poor condition, which would cost approximately $250,000 per bridge, or $17 million to replace them.
Even with the help of some state and federal funds, it will take the county over 10 years, or $3.4 million of local funds to replace these bridges, and by that time, more bridges will have deteriorated and need to be replaced, he said.
Since Beck took office in 1989, 205 bridges have been replaced or undergone major rehabilitations resulting in a like-new bridge. The remaining 83 bridges are in fair to good condition; however, approximately 71 of Richland County’s bridges still are considered inadequate.
The engineer’s office is also responsible for maintaining 347 miles of highway. Beck said that they have been chip and sealing highways, which is sometimes unpopular, but if they were to pave 35 miles of highways a year (10-year cycle of resurfacing at $100,000 per mile), the cost would be about $3.5 million per year of paving, “and we don’t have a fraction of that much available for paving,” he said.
Road leveling with chip and seal surface costs about $15,000 per mile, which is closer to what the county can afford. At this rate, the county needs over $1 million for chip and sealing in order to maintain a reasonable five-year cycle.
The engineer’s office’s total revenue for 2014 was $9,174,711.99, outweighing the expenditures, which were $8,955,697.14. “You have to have a big carryover or we can’t operate the first few months of the following year,” said Beck.
The engineer’s office receives funding from a share of the Ohio motor vehicle fuel tax and from the Ohio motor vehicle registration fees. Additionally, they receive $7.50 of every $10 Richland County motor vehicle registration fee. They do not receive funding from property tax or permissive sales tax money collected in the county.
Commissioner Tim Wert asked about salt usage during the winter months. Adam Gove, chief deputy engineer, said, “We purchased a brine maker and we applied brine to grit that we purchased, which saved us about half of what we used last year.”
Gove said they ordered 2,300 tons of salt, as opposed to the 7,000-8,000 tons that they purchased last year. He said they’ve used up almost all of their supply and said they’re considering doing a summer fill-up program this year.
As for the pothole situation throughout the county, Gove said it’s much worse this year. “And that has to do with not using as much salt, not having the roads as clear as we did last year. If you get the snow and the ice off the road and get them dry that helps in the long run,” he said.
In terms of how that will affect maintenance, he said, “We’ll have to do a lot of patching.”
“And that has to do with not using as much salt, not having the roads as clear as we did last year. If you get the snow and the ice off the road and get them dry that helps in the long run,” said Adam Gove, chief deputy engineer.
