MANSFIELD — Call it the autumn rain before the spring construction storm.
Preliminary work has begun on a 3.4-mile, four-lane stretch of Ohio 13 that will be completely resurfaced over the next two years in a $21.2 million Ohio Department of Transportation project.
Workers with Kokosing Construction are working to install driving lanes on what is now the inner median lanes on the road, according to Crystal Neelon, public information officer for the eight-county ODOT District 3 based in Ashland.
Traffic will be limited to one lane in each direction while the preparatory work is done, likely until mid November, Neelon said.
She said the work is needed to help maintain traffic flow on the busy stretch of road inside city limits from Raleigh Avenue on the north to Hanley Road on the south when the actual reconstruction project begins.
The project will be done at no cost to the City of Mansfield, using a mix of federal and state funds. Mansfield City Council authorized the work in October 2023.
“It’s a big project,” Neelon said. “Once they get out there and they start working on it (in the spring), it’s going to be a major investment.
“They’ll be doing a lot of work next year.”
The divided, four-lane highway, a composite surface concrete and asphalt, serves as the southern entrance to the city from I-71.
Neelon said the major rehabilitation project, expected to begin in the spring, will include the “rubblization” of the surface. The work is expected to be complete some time in 2026, she said.
The process includes removing and fracturing three to four inches of asphalt and concrete, which will then be used in making a new base for the roadway.
This process increases the lifespan of any overlay and ensures a better driving experience for the traveling public, according to ODOT.
After that is done, four to five inches of asphalt concrete will be put down, Neelon said. She said ODOT does normal inspections of road surfaces and a major rehab project was found to be necessary on Ohio 13.
She said bridge work will also be done over the highway on Cook Road and Malone Road, including work on the bridge decks and sidewalks, along with joint repairs and deck seals.
“That’s not going to have any (road) closures. We will maintain traffic with flaggers while they are doing. They’re expecting to do that work this season, as well,” Nealon said.
A pavement repair project on the same stretch of Ohio 13 was done in the summer 2021. Neelon said at the time it was designed to maintain the several miles of highway until it’s “completely removed and rebuilt in the next few years.”
“It wouldn’t be fiscally responsible to repave the road now and then replace it in a few years,” Neelon said in 2021.
