MANSFIELD — The City of Mansfield Board of Control on Tuesday approved a $49,800 contract with EMH&T to design a new bridge at North Lake Park.
City engineer Bob Bianchi said the double-box bridge with a concrete slab over the top was built in the early 1900s and has been rehabilitated over the years.
When entering the park from West Fourth Street, the bridge over Stanfield Run is just before motorists get to the pavilion building.
“The bridge is in need of replacement,” Bianchi said. “Rather than have a double-box bridge, we will plan a single box so debris doesn’t accumulate upstream during a large storm.”
The design work will include the in-line replacement of the existing lake feeder pipe east of the bridge, according to EMH&T proposal.
Money for the design work work will come from the city’s sewer fund already in the 2023 budget, the engineer said.
Bianchi said he wasn’t sure when he would seek approval to actually replace the bridge, a project he estimated at around $900,000.
“Potentially, we can get a grant, depending on when we want to apply,” he said.
“It’s not terribly crucial right now. It can take normal traffic loading, but we’re trying to prevent it from being posted (with weight limits),” Bianchi said.
He said the design would include more decorative features, including visible parapet walls and sandstone elements.
“It will be a little more aesthetically pleasing,” he said.
The last major bridge work at North Lake Park came in 2020 when the city spent $707,554 to replace a crumbling, double-arch bridge with a new, single-arch span.
The city received a $500,000 grant from the Ohio Public Works Commission to cover about 70 percent of the cost of that project.