The Athens County Engineer’s Office will be reconstructing a portion of County Road 7 – Johnson Road this summer. The portion to be improved is located between the Athens High School and the Cemetery. The same process will be used as last year on the rebuilt portion of CR 7 as shown in the photos during the construction in 2013. The existing asphalt and base will be excavated, then 304 aggregate base will be placed and compacted followed by 301 asphalt base and 448 asphalt surface course. The estimated cost is $100,000.
2014
County Road 53 Motor Paving
The Athens County Engineer’s Office applied for and received a $400,000 grant from the Ohio Public Works Commission (OPWC) in the fall of 2013. This project involves “Motor Paving” CR 53 Lottridge Road from US 50 to CR 57 (2.2 miles) and CR 53 Bethany Ridge from US 50 to SR 144 (5.8 miles) for a total of 8.0 miles. The estimated cost for the project is $660,000.
This Motor Paving project is the first of its kind for Athens County. Motor Paving is a cold mix asphalt process where #57 limestone is dumped into a paver and there it is mixed with emulsion then applied to the road about 2.5 inches thick. The asphalt is them compacted with a roller. After sufficient curing time, the road is chip sealed with #8 limestone to seal the surface. There are several benefits to this process including:
- Flexible paving system specifically designed for low volume roads
- Can be applied to roads which have a marginal base, due to the material’s flexibility
- More durable than conventional Hot Mix on low volume roads
- Can be open to traffic as soon as material is compacted
- Motor paving is approximately half the cost of conventional hot mix paving
Pavement Striping
The Athens County Engineer’s Office applied for and received a $150,000 Pavement Striping grant in the fall of 2013. This 130+ mile pavement striping project was completed in the fall of 2014.
CR 85 Bridge on Big Run Road
This bridge design was completed in the winter of 2012 by the RJM Engineering Company. This project sold on May 8, 2014 and RC Construction Company of Cutler, Ohio was the low bidder with a bid of $561,290.60. The contractor began construction in August 2014 and completed the bridge on November 1, 2014. The existing steel truss bridge was replaced with a non-composite pre-stressed box beam bridge.
CR 1A Bridge Near Buchtel
The design was completed in the fall of 2012 by RJM Engineering Company. The Alan Stone Company, Inc. of Cutler, Ohio began construction of the bridge on County Road 1A – Happy Hollow Road in April 2014. The existing steel truss bridge was replaced with a non-composite pre-stressed box beam bridge. The new bridge was completed and opened on July 31, 2014 at an approximate cost of $400,000.
CR 45 Bridge Near Shade
This bridge design was completed in the fall of 2012 by RJM Engineering Company. The Alan Stone Company, Inc. of Cutler, Ohio began construction of the bridge on County Road 45 – King Road in March 2014. The existing steel truss bridge was replaced with a non-composite pre-stressed box beam bridge. The new bridge was completed in July 2014 at an approximate cost of $330,000.
CR 28 McDougal Road Bridge
The Righter Co., Inc. of Columbus, Ohio began construction of the bridge on County Road 28 – McDougal Road in October 2013. The existing truss bridge was removed for salvage and will be used on a future bike path project per an agreement between the Athens County Commissioners and Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT). The new bridge is on schedule to be completed in June 2014 at an estimated cost of $780,000.
CR 28 and CR 32 Motor Paving
The Athens County Engineer’s Office applied for and received a $399,526 grant from the Ohio Public Works Commission (OPWC) in the fall of 2014. This project involved motor paving CR 28 McDougal Road from SR 550 to CR 93 in the Village of Millfield (4.8 miles), and CR 32 Congress Run Rd from SR 78 to the Village of Trimble near Loudermilk Rd (1.7 miles) for a total of 6.5 miles. The estimated cost for the paving is $539,900.
Motor paving is a cold mix asphalt process where #57 limestone is dumped into a paver, where it is mixed with emulsion, then applied to the road at a thickness of about 2.5 inches. The asphalt is then compacted with a roller. After sufficient curing time, the road is chip sealed with #8 limestone to seal the surface. There are several benefits to this process, including:
- Flexible paving system specifically designed for low volume roads
- Can be applied to roads which have a marginal base, due to the material’s flexibility
- More durable than conventional hot mix on low volume roads
- Can be open to traffic as soon as material is compacted
- Motor paving is approximately half the cost of conventional hot mix paving
In the spring of 2015, we will be applying for additional money from the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) through the Athens County TID. If we are successful on receiving additional grant funds, three small bridges with load limits will be replaced on CR 28, as well as the dilapidated culverts along both roads.