Question: What is the deal with the Trimble Road bridge? It’s still terrible to drive across. I thought it was going to be fixed when the city paved in that area.
MANSFIELD — A planned temporary fix to the Trimble Road bridge over U.S. 30 won’t work as planned, so a longer-term solution is in the offing.
But there will be a little short-term traffic pain, according to city engineer Bob Bianchi.
The bridge will close for seven days, beginning Sept. 11, as concrete repairs are made on north and south approaches to the four-lane overpass.
Bianchi said the $73,720 project will be done by BCC Ohio of New London, a contract approved July 30 by the city’s Board of Control.
The work will bring the concrete up to meet the steel joints on the bridge approaches, as well as repair areas of concrete on the bridge deck itself, according to the engineer.
In May, he said the current problem on the highly-traveled Trimble Road bridge has been caused by bridge deck “lifting” from the approach slab at both ends.
The city is responsible for minor maintenance to the bridge while ODOT handles significant structural issues, Bianchi said.
The engineer said he contacted ODOT about the problem a few months ago. He was told the bridge was not on the agency’s radar, which meant a more permanent fix could be six or seven years away.
“There is no concern over the safety of the bridge. It’s just a nuisance,” he said.
The first plan was to have the Kokosing Construction Co. pave over the bridge as part of the city’s (2024) street resurfacing program, annual program underway through a $4.3 million contract to resurface 18.8 miles of Mansfield streets.
However, Kokosing officials advised Bianchi the planned temporary fix would not be effective.
“They said they have performed this work in the past on other structures. Their experience showed the asphalt (paving plan) would not last near as long as what’s needed to span the gap between this work and when ODOT does its work,” he said.
“We determined to go a different route. We engaged a contractor on some ideas for a longer fix, albeit not a permanent fix, to make sure the rideability across the bridge is much smoother,” Bianchi said.
“Unfortunately, and I mean that in every sense of the word, the bridge will need to be closed for seven days,” he said. “It will last for years and get us to the point where ODOT comes in and does a larger project.”
The engineer said detours for motorists would be via Home Road or Ohio 39.
“It will be a temporary inconvenience for much better rideability over the structure,” he said.
The bridge will be closed at the same time as Trimble Road will be closed between Cook Road and Marion Avenue for a $1.2-million tunnel project beneath the busy road that will allow bicyclists and pedestrians to safely cross beneath the busy street when an accompanying planned B&O Trail connector project is complete.
That closure is set to begin Monday, Aug. 19, and continue for up to 45 days, according to Bianchi.
Local traffic will be maintained, including access to the David F. Winder Department of Veterans Affairs Community Based Outpatient Clinic and the Akron Children’s Mansfield Health Center from the north.
