MANSFIELD — Underground artesian springs are impacting the construction of a $2.1 million, 1.1-mile, multi-use path linking the Richland B&O Trail to Trimble Road.
That’s why the City of Mansfield Board of Control on Tuesday morning approved an additional $58,275 contract with Adena Corp. to remedy the issue.
City engineer Bob Bianchi told the board that once the company began grading work on the trail this year, it found five locations “where water is bubbling up.”
“If we construct the trail over it, it will be over very soft subsoils and the trail will not last in that area,” he said.
He said the company will install underdrains and pipe the water away before it crosses the trail, sending it about 1,500 feet to the nearest stream.
He said the underground water conduit will be buried about three feet deep.
“It’s a very common construction technique to deal with water like this,” the engineer said.
Funds for the fix will come from the city sewer fund.
Bianchi said the additional work has not delayed the project, scheduled to be complete in October. He said he is still hopeful the project will be complete in August.
“If (Adena) can get some dry days, they’re going to really move,” he said.
In December, the Board of Control awarded a $1.9 million contract to Adena Corp. of Mansfield to construct the connector path. That path will connect to a tunnel beneath Trimble Road that Adena has already constructed.
The $1.2-million tunnel project beneath Trimble Road will allow bicyclists and pedestrians to safely cross beneath the busy street when the accompanying connector project is complete. The tunnel was finished by Adena Corp. in 2024.
The $2.1 million connector trail 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;
— $150,000 from the state capital budget;
— $150,000 from the Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources
In January, CTL Engineering from Columbus was awarded a $234,840 inspection contract for the connector trail work, an 11-foot-wide path that includes an elevated boardwalk, drainage structures and drainage improvements.
Once the connector is complete, the Richland County Park District, which operates the B&O Trail, will take over maintenance of it.
The Richland B&O Trail spans 18 miles and connects four of Richland County’s communities on its trek between North Lake Park in downtown Mansfield to the Village of Butler.
Part of the connector will go through land owned by the Western Reserve Land Conservancy District, which has granted access along the north side of the property.
Also on Tuesday, the Board of Control approved demolition contracts totaling $195,807 to take down nine residential and two former commercial properties, approving the lowest bid submitted in four demolition packages.
The demolitions, using a portion of the city’s PRIDE tax, were previously approved by City Council. Work on the sites should be done by the end of July.
The board also approved a $41,900 contract for seed-and-straw efforts at the locations.
