MANSFIELD — Adena Corp. of Mansfield on Tuesday was awarded a $1.9 million contract to construct a 1.1-mile, multi-use path connecting the B&O Trail to Trimble Road.
The city Board of Control made the award during a meeting with city engineer Bob Bianchi, who reviewed nine bids submitted for the project.
Adena had the third-best bid among the nine, but the two lowest bids were rejected by the Ohio Department of Transportation after those companies — Ironsite, Inc. of Galena, Ohio, and Mark Haynes Construction of Norwalk — failed to submit “disadvantaged business enterprise” documentation.
According to ODOT, DBE is “a program to level the playing field by providing DBEs a fair opportunity to compete for federally-funded transportation contracts.”
The $2.1 million total project, including design contracts, inspection and required wetlands mitigation, is being funded by $900,000 in federal money through Richland County Regional Planning, $500,000 from the city’s American Rescue Plan Act funds, $450,000 from the Richland County Board of Commissioners through a jail services contract waiver and $150,000 from the state capital budget.
The new, 10-foot wide trail will connect with an already-completed $1.2-million tunnel project beneath Trimble Road that will allow bicyclists and pedestrians to safely cross beneath the busy street.
Adena also handled that tunnel project earlier this year, completing it in October.
Bianchi said work on the new project will begin in February or March and is scheduled to be complete by mid-summer.
Bianchi has said the connector will intentionally “meander” through land owned by the Western Land Conservancy District and OhioHealth, connecting to Trimble near Akron Children’s Hospital.
The engineer said he had been working on the B&O Trail connector project since 2017 when he worked to try to obtain state funding. The B&O is an 18.4-mile trail that runs from Mansfield to Butler.
“We didn’t have the local (funding) match at the time. So this project has been years in the making,” he said. “A lot of partnerships had to work to make something like this happen.
“I have done a lot of projects in my career thus far, and this ranks among the top in terms of how exciting I think this project’s going to be for the community.”
It’s all part of a larger plan to one day connect the B&O Trail into downtown Mansfield.
Earlier this month, Smith Paving & Excavating Co. from Norwalk received a $608,642 contract to construct a 10-foot wide concrete path along Millsboro Road between Trimble Road and Marion Avenue.
Smith Paving had the lowest of six bids for a project that had been estimated at $815,000.
“This is part of our long-range plan for the connectivity of pedestrian movements and active transportation through Mansfield,” Bianchi said at the time.
The work will largely be done in the summer of 2025 when nearby Discovery School is closed for vacation, he said.
The entire project will be funded through federal and state dollars, Bianchi said.
In September, Mayor Jodie Perry said the B&O Trail is one of the area’s top attractions with tens of thousands of users per year.
“Once the trail is fully connected, it will see a lot of use, much as the current trail along Trimble does. Connecting to the bike trail from this area of town is difficult because none of the roads that go south are very wide,” Perry said.
“This will encourage more use of the trails in general. Experts have shared that communities with active trail systems see strong economic revitalization over time.
“This has actually been in the works for two years. While it was in process before I took office, I absolutely support it,” said Perry, who took office in January.
“I believe that when it is all connected, most people will see the benefit of a trail like this. There is an unprecedented amount of public works projects happening in our community and in large part that is thanks to all of the grant money that has been coming in.
“We could not do projects like this, Main Street, or others solely with local funds. This is undoubtedly a time of great opportunity for Mansfield and we are trying to make our resources go as far as possible,” she said.
Bianchi said he understands some residents’ concerns about the expense of the project, but added he hopes residents understand some of the outside funds obtained could only be used for projects like this.
“Our goal every day when we come to work … we want to think about how can we make Mansfield a better place to live. That’s what we try to do.
“I think this trail helps to accomplish that goal.”
