MANSFIELD — Adena Corp. on Tuesday was awarded a $1,255,636 contract for a tunnel project beneath Trimble Road 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.
The Mansfield Board of Control awarded the contract to Adena, a Mansfield company, which submitted the lowest of the four bids offered for the project, according to city engineer Bob Bianchi.
Other bids were submitted by Elite Excavating Co. of Mansfield ($1,410,680), Mosser Construction of Fremont ($1,710,142) and Rietschlin Construction of Crestline ($1,866,878), the engineer said.
“We’re really pleased with the bid that we got from Adena. Of course, they are more than capable of doing this work,” Bianchi said.
“They’ve done a lot of work in the area and I know they have a vested interest in that corridor. So I look forward to a good project with that company,” Bianchi said.
The Control Board also awarded a $115,000 construction engineering/inspection contract to K.E. McCartney & Associates of Mansfield, which was the only company to submit a proposal for the work, according to Bianchi.
The board consists of Mayor Jodie Perry, Finance Director Kelly Blankenship and Safety Service Director Keith Porch.
The two contracts total $1,370,636, about 9.6 percent higher than the engineer’s estimate of $1.25 million.
According to city engineer Bob Bianchi, the tunnel under the 63-foot wide road will be funded by:
— $700,000 from Richland County American Rescue Plan Act through county commissioners;
— $250,000 from the city’s ARPA;
— $200,000 from the Richland County Foundation;
— $91,123 from the city’s permissive sales tax;
— $61,597 from the city sewer fund;
— $67,915 from the city water fund.
City Council in March approved the project, which will go under Trimble Road a few hundred feet south of Raemelton Boulevard (Akron Children’s Hospital). It will be 96 feet in length and will be 15 feet high and almost 11 feet wide.
“This is an exciting project,” Bianchi told council. “The goal, the vision, is (ultimately) connecting that (bike) trail into the downtown.”
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.
A contract for that connector will likely be awarded in January with construction in the spring of 2025, he said.
deeper dive into richland source coverage of the b&o bike trail connector project
Bianchi said the tunnel will be a concrete box with a 75-year design life with internal lighting and security cameras.
The engineer said construction of the tunnel will likely begin in June and that section of Trimble Road will be closed for 45 days during the project. He said Adena would have to pay financial penalties if the road is closed longer than 45 days, under the contract.
Bianchi has said previously 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 will be 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.
Also on Tuesday, the Board of Control:
— approved spending $33,228 to buy 10 new tasers for Mansfield Municipal Court probation and security officers. They will replace 17 outdated tasers.
— approved spending $27,630 to replace five streetscape lights that are down.