MANSFIELD — The City of Mansfield is ready to tunnel under Trimble Road this summer, a project that will close the busy four-lane street for 45 days.
City Council on Wednesday approved seeking bids for the $1.25 million tunnel project that will allow bicyclists and pedestrians to safely cross beneath the busy, street when an accompanying planned B&O Bike Trail connector project is complete.
According to city engineer Bob Bianchi, the tunnel under the 63-foot wide roadway will be funded by:
— $700,000 from Richland County American Rescue Plan Act;
— $250,000 from the city’s ARPA;
— $200,000 from the Richland County Foundation;
— $100,000 from the city’s permissive sales tax fund.
“This is an exciting project,” Bianchi said. “The goal, the vision, is (ultimately) connecting that (bike) trail into the downtown.”
The tunnel, which will go under Trimble Road a few hundred feet south of Raemelton Boulevard, will be 96 feet in length and will be 15 feet high and almost 11 feet wide.
It’s a key part of the larger project that officials began discussing in the fall of 2022 that will see a 1.25-mile, 10-foot wide multi-use path constructed from a parking lot about 250 feet south of the Marion Avenue and B&O Trail intersection to — and then under — Trimble Road.
Bianchi said the tunnel will be a concrete box with a 75-year design life with internal lighting and security cameras.
“We’re thinking about potentially working with the (Richland County) Foundation on doing a mural on the inside of it with some anti-graffiti coating,” he said.
Bianchi told council Wednesday the tunnel was the best, safest option as opposed to a traffic control device, rapid flashing beacons or a bridge over the road.
The engineer said the road closure was necessary.
“We closed it in 2017 during the widening project, and we’re going to have to do it again. The detour will be Cook Road to Lexington Avenue to Cline Avenue and to Marion Avenue,” he said.
“What happened when we closed Trimble Road last time is vehicles went down Woodland Road to get through. It was the local detour route that they just took themselves. And it’s not conducive for that much traffic,” the engineer said.
“So I’m recommending that we close Woodland Road at Marion (Avenue) during the project. This is going to be inconvenient. It was in 2017. Everyone found their way though about a week or 10 days into it.
“There is a disincentive in the contract that if the contractor goes over 45 days, it’s $600 a day in penalties. So we’re going to hold the contractor accountable for this duration and make sure that it gets built within the 45 days,” Bianchi said.
Council also voted Wednesday to accept a $900,000 ODOT grant help cover the costs of the $2 million connector trail project itself.
“I will be back to council to talk in detail about the connector trail when we are ready to advertise the construction bids,” Bianchi said.
In other activity on Wednesday, City Council:
— gave first read to an ordinance amending current laws reducing the height at which weeds become illegal, and also make it more expensive for property owners if the city has to have lots mowed.
There are exceptions made for “native plants,” provided there is “purposeful maintenance.”
According to the change, “the city shall allow and encourage the purposeful
maintenance of native plants that can be left unmowed without a height limit on a case by case basis, based on visual inspection that allows for such growth when a reasonable number of the following cues are present:
(1) Clean edges and boundaries such as mown strips along bordering properties, pathways, driveways and sidewalks, except the tree lawn and within 6 feet of a public street
(2) Fences and borders
(3) Obvious regular maintenance is occurring
(4) Flowering plants and trees
(5) Wildlife feeders and houses
(6) Familiar layouts and design elements
It’s scheduled for a vote on April 2.
— voted to seek bids for the replacement of a culvert under Liberty Park Road.
— voted to approve the purchase of four Dodge Durangos for the police department for $284,708.53. Three of the vehicles will be used for patrol duties and the fourth will be an unmarked vehicle. The vehicles will be purchased from the Jim Shorkey Auto Group in Pennsylvania, which has them on its lot.
— voted to accept a $950,000 grant from ODOT for a future planned bridge replacement on West Sixth Street.
