Question: “What is the hold up on rebuilding the bridge in Plymouth?”
PLYMOUTH — About a dozen Plymouth residents got a behind-the-scenes look Monday night at the planning process behind the West Broadway Street bridge replacement project.
The village organized a town hall meeting to provide a detailed update on where the project stands, what it took to get to its current stage, and what’s next to come.
Ryan Athy from the Ohio Department of Transportation and Patrick Schwan, senior engineering manager at Richland Engineering Limited (Mannik Smith Group), led the majority of Monday’s discussion and answered questions presented by residents.
The meeting was also streamed live on the village’s Facebook page for those who couldn’t attend in-person.
Schwan has been leading the engineering services for the proposed project, which has not yet been bid out to a contractor. Plymouth Mayor Cassaundra Fryman said the goal is to have the project awarded by the end of 2025.
She announced in October 2023 that the village had been awarded a municipal bridge replacement grant of over $1.7 million from ODOT for fiscal year 2027.
“We were recently moved to the fiscal year 2026 and are now trying to expedite as much as possible to stay on track with the new timeline,” Fryman said Monday. “The bridge reopening is pivotal to our community. It serves as a critical line through the heart of the village and, as a closed crossing, is an eyesore and inconvenience to anyone that must cross it on a daily basis.”
In order to not lose funding from ODOT, it is critical that the project be awarded to a contractor during the departments upcoming fiscal year 2026, which begins July 1.
Current status and next steps
Schwan displayed a visual showing proposed changes to the deteriorating, wooden bridge which currently remains closed near the heart of the village.
The engineer has been communicating and seeking comments the past few years with residents who live nearby the bridge and will be most impacted by construction.
The estimated $2.1 million-project is currently in the final stages of being designed. The proposal includes a three-span bridge with a 20-foot vertical clearance for trains traveling underneath.
Schwan said most main line railroads prefer a 23-foot vertical clearance, but Ashland Railway was willing to work with the village and ultimately come to an agreement.
“We want the most economical (and) the most efficient structure that can be built and at the end of the day, the least amount of impacts that are going to be occurring because of the alignments and things we’re going to be coming up with,” he said.
The proposal also features new sidewalks running east to west along both sides of the bridge and a five-foot retaining wall along the west side of the structure.
The retaining wall would be a necessity due to the increased incline of the road surface, but would gradually decline in height as it moved west away from the bridge. Some new drainage collection and catch basins will also be installed due to the new grading of the terrain.
Next steps for the project include finalizing engineering details and plans and beginning the process of putting it out for bid.
Pending unforeseen delays, the mayor estimated construction will begin in 2026.
Background: Village awarded $1.7 million ODOT grant
The West Broadway Street bridge, closed since July 2022, is centrally located in the village and its closure has impacted roughly 350-400 homes, Fryman said in 2023.
Funding for the project will come from a variety of organizations including ODOT, the Ohio Rail Development Commission and Ashland Railway.
The mayor highlighted cooperation between communities, representatives, businesses, state agencies and local government as key contributors to making the project possible.
“The municipal bridge replacement grant is not just an investment in infrastructure; it is an investment in the future of Plymouth,” Fryman previously said.
“Let us remember the power of collaboration and the potential that exists when we work together for the greater good,” she said.
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