MANSFIELD — A planned $12.7 million Main Street Corridor Improvement project in Mansfield has received a $1.7 million kickstart in the former of a state safety grant.
City engineer Bob Bianchi said Thursday the Ohio Department of Transportation notified the city Wednesday its application for the funds was approved.
“We are moving in the right direction. This is another win for the project,” he said.
The grant, added to a previously announced $7.38 million federal Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) competitive grant, and $1.3 million procured through Richland County Regional Planning, raises current grant funding to $10.39 million.
The Main Street Corridor Improvement plan, from First Street to Fifth Street, will include updated LED street lighting, new curbs and ADA-compliant curb ramps, concrete sidewalks, brick pavers, delineated crosswalks and lighted plazas with seating.
Aging water and sewer infrastructure along Main Street would be also be replaced, according to Bianchi, who said Main Street will also be converted to two-way traffic during the process.
“Originally, when we began (the ODOT grant process), we had hoped for a maximum of $500,000,” Bianchi said. “But as time progress and we found more evidence of safety benefits, we applied for the $1.71 million.”
“ODOT and K.E. McCartney & Associates, who actually prepared the grant application and submitted with it with ODOT District 3’s assistance, deserve the credit for this,” Bianchi said.
McCartney was awarded a $1 million, two-year design contract for the project in 2021 by City Council.
Bianchi said planners looked at historical crash data along the corridor and considered “countermeasures” that could be employed to help make Main Street safer for vehicles and pedestrians.
Bianchi said the new grant funds those countermeasures, some of which could be as simple as backplates on new light signal heads to make them more visible.
The engineer said the city will also likely seek $400,000 to $500,000 in an Ohio Public Works Commission grant and is also speaking with the Richland County Foundation for financial support for the project.
The OPWC grant can be used as the local match for federal funds, he said.
Bianchi said the city also may pursue a $500,000 state transportation improvement district grant, working with RCRPC to secure those funds.
“When we are done, we may have 12 different funding sources for this project,” Bianchi said.
The city began working Thursday to acquire small sections of property that will be needed for the project, largely at intersections and street corners.
“There’s some property that we have to purchase, very small amounts … corners to put some signals in. We’re talking square foot, not acres, by any means. But with that acquisition, the federal process has to be followed and that federal process takes time,” Bianchi said.
That acquisition phase will likely take about 18 months, according to Bianchi, who said affected property owners would be receiving letters and that Downtown Mansfield Inc. will assist in the effort.
Actual work on the improvement project may begin in the spring of 2025, according to Bianchi, who said the construction could take up to two years to complete.
“The nature of the work will require intersections along the corridor to be fully closed at some point. For example, the intersection of Fourth and Main streets could be closed for up to 60 days to complete the work and we would then move onto the next one.
“This project will be done in series, rather than parallel,” he said.
