FREDERICKTOWN — Fredericktown’s streetscape project will be completed as a single-phased project, instead of two phases as originally proposed.
The street improvements remain slated for completion by the end of 2023. Based on initial conversations with Ohio Department of Transportation officials, construction will likely begin in the summer of 2023, said village administrator Bruce Snell.
Project subcontractor, EDGE Construction, recently created conceptual drawings for the project.
“The purpose of these renderings are strictly to provide us with a general idea of what we can expect to see downtown, once the project is completed,” Snell said.
EDGE will be handling the aesthetic design components of the project, while the village’s contracted engineering firm, K.E. McCartney & Associates of Mansfield, will handle the engineering and structural design.
“We wish we could start the project ‘yesterday’ but we are required to wait until 2023 in order to receive the federal grant funding, which will cover approximately 95% of the actual construction costs of this project,” Snell said.
The remaining 5% will be covered by the village, he said.
Fredericktown received its first grant installment from the Ohio Department of Transportation in the amount of $922,000 in 2019, and received an additional $470,000 from ODOT this past June.
The approximately $1 million total grant will fund pedestrian safety improvements (widening sidewalks and driving lanes) and revitalization efforts (replacing traffic signals and street lights with historic designs).
The grant is provided through ODT’s Transportation Alternatives Program, which funds projects that improve non-driver access to public transportation and community improvement activities.
In terms of work underway, the Knox County Foundation began separate revitalization efforts in line with the streetscape project in May 2021, through which a plaza, splash pad (an outdoor play area with sprinklers and fountains) and heated public restroom is being built on the west side of Main Street.
“The (village’s) steering committee is continuing to work with the group that is building the splash park,” Snell said.
The Knox County Foundation is completing the portion of the streetscape in front of the plaza, so the village is helping pick out benches, trash cans and other items that match the overall design concept, Snell said.
