A view of South High Street is shown looking northward toward the West Reynolds Street intersection.
Photo by John Coffman Photography
It’s been well over a year since through traffic has been permitted on South High Street in Urbana.
The city has undertaken a major infrastructure upheaval along the South High corridor in the time since the street closed in the July of 2023.
As expected with a project of this magnitude, neighbors of the corridor have been negatively impacted by the construction dust and inability to smoothly access their usual routes home, among other inconveniences.
The bad news is the corridor project that was expected to finish by Oct. 31 this year has been significantly delayed.
The good news is city officials expect to open the street once again by Dec. 31 of this year.
City officials agreed to answer questions from the Urbana Daily Citizen regarding the project, its delays and its ultimate benefit to the community:
Q: Has the projected timeline and date of completion of the project changed significantly during construction? If so, and if it has been a significant variation, what has occurred to change it?
A: The project started construction on Monday, July 10, 2023, and the original contract completion date was Oct. 31, 2024. As the project has progressed, unforeseen underground conditions have resulted in change orders which have increased the scope of work for the contractor to complete, and this additional work has extended the completion date. Recently, in an effort to have this project substantially complete by year’s end, the City of Urbana entered into an acceleration agreement with the project contractor, R.B. Jergens Contractors, Inc., to ensure that the entire roadway can be paved with intermediate asphalt by Dec. 6, 2024 and open to traffic with all necessary safety items in place no later than the end of the day on Dec. 31, 2024. Final surface asphalt, pavement markings, sidewalks, topsoil placement, final seeding, and remaining punch-list items are to be fully completed by June 30, 2025.
Q: Please remind us of the following key points: why the project was initiated, its benefits and what is the proportion/ratio/total of state funds/loans/local funds being used to build it?
A: This project is intended to reconstruct South High Street between Lewis B. Moore Drive (state Route 55) and Miami Street (U.S. 36). Under development since the completion of a Corridor Study of South High Street in February 2019 that was funded by the Regional Transportation Planning Organization (RTPO), Logan-Union-Champaign Regional Planning Commission, this project is designed to better serve the traveling needs of the public. Specifically, the project will provide improved pedestrian and bicycle access, address traffic-safety related concerns, address inadequate stormwater control, and provide improved on-street parking where appropriate. In addition, the project will include roadway reconstruction, new curb and sidewalk, installation of a storm sewer system, shared lane markings, and traffic calming measures. Furthermore, the project will replace water lines and sanitary sewer lines within certain blocks of the project corridor.
The project is funded with three different federal grants totaling $4,998,000.00 through the Ohio Department of Transportation: $2,650,000.00 (Transportation Alternatives Program); $1,348,000.00 (Small City Program); and $1,000,000.00 (Safety). In addition, the city’s allocation of federal funds of $1,199,350.12 through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) is being utilized on this project toward eligible investments into water, sanitary sewer, and/or stormwater infrastructure. Beyond the federal funding, the Ohio Public Works Commission is providing $600,000.00 in state grant funding and up to $2,326,583.00 in 0% loan funding (20-year term). The entire approved loan amount through the Ohio Public Works Commission is not anticipated to be fully utilized in order to complete the project, and the final loan utilization is anticipated to be $1,000,000.00 or less.
Q: Have costs changed significantly since the project began?
A: The original contract value was $6,733,425.85, and the current contract value is $7,181,234.07. One of the larger cost increases was due to additional work being completed on West Water Street between South High Street and South Walnut Street. Originally, this block of West Water Street was only going to include installation of a new stormwater main to convey stormwater from South High Street over to an existing storm sewer on South Walnut Street. However, due to conflicts with elevations of the existing sanitary sewer in this block and the planned routing of the new stormwater main, a new sanitary sewer system was installed in the 200 block of West Water at an approximate cost of $203,725.90.
Q: Is any street passable east and west across South High Street and will such passable intersections generally remain open as the project is completed? It seems a lot of pressure is being placed on the streets east and west through the roundabout. We’ve noticed West Reynolds Street is generally open at South High Street; some traffic now seems to be coming north through the intersection with Scioto; and West Market Street appears to be open to South High Street on occasion.
A: The section of South High Street between Miami Street (U.S. 36 East) and West Reynolds Street is passable to vehicles and pedestrians as the roadway is paved with the intermediate course of asphalt and sidewalks are installed within these blocks. In addition, the intersections of South High Street with West Reynolds Street, West Water Street, and West Market Street are also passable. The contractor continues to work southward block by block. The contractor will continue to work southward during this construction season with the block of South High Street between West Broadway Street and state Route 55 (Lewis B. Moore Drive) being the last block scheduled for reconstruction work.
Q: Has there been any feedback/comments from PDI or Urbana Investment Group (UIG) about the project or its construction impact on the main entrance to the campus as it reportedly attempts to launch its sports academy this fall?
A: We haven’t received any communication from PDI or UIG with regard to the project. At the present time, the contractor is actively working in the block of South High Street where the former Urbana University campus entrance is located on South High Street. Since construction started on the project, either the South High Street entrance or College Way entrance have remained easily accessible in order to provide unimpeded access to the campus. Due to present construction activities near the South High Street entrance, the College Way entrance to the former campus can be more readily accessed from South Main Street via West Reynolds Street/College Way with the South High Street/West Reynolds Street intersection being passable to motorists and pedestrians.
Q: Any other points of clarification or public education about the project the city would like to have published?
A: The South High Street Improvements Project (ODOT PID #112019-CHP-S. High Street) is reconstructing South High Street between Lewis B. Moore Drive (state Route 55) and Miami Street (U.S. 36) which is approximately 1.06 miles in length and represents the city’s first major street reconstruction project since East Water Street (0.93 miles in length) between South Main Street (U.S. 68) and Finch Street was completed in 2006 and East Lawn Avenue (0.75 miles in length) between Bloomfield Avenue and Scioto Street (U.S. 36) was completed in 2008.
