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Columbiana gets more funds for 7/14 upgrade

The intersection just outside the city where state routes 7 and 14 meet has been the site of many traffic crashes over the years. A project to make the intersection safer is under way and the city recently received additional funding for the $2.29 million project. (Salem News photo by Katie White)

COLUMBIANA – Upgrades at a busy intersection where major development projects are already under way are scheduled to begin next year.

City Manager Lance Willard said the project at the state routes 7 and 14 intersection has recently been awarded additional funding through the Ohio Department of Transportation.

The city was awarded $1.7 million in grants for the project in 2014 and the latest new funding is for $325,000, he said.

The 2014 funding consisted of a $500,000 Federal Safety Funds grant that requires a 10 percent match, and $1.2 million in a Federal Small City Funds grant that requires a 20 percent match for the associated costs of the construction, Willard explained.

The new funding brings the Small City Funds grant to $1.525 million, he added.

The city began looking at improvements at the intersection more than 10 years ago following a safety study there that was done between the city, Jobes Henderson, and ODOT. The study was conducted in 2006, and the results showed that improvements were necessary, Willard said in a press release.

An update of the study was performed by Jobes Henderson in 2012 that included updated certified traffic counts, an updated project cost estimate, updated project schedule and updated crash data information.

Another study was also conducted in 2013 by Jobes Henderson for developer Tom Mackall, who is heading up the Town Center at Firestone Farms and Marketplace at Firestone Farms commercial developments on both sides of the intersection.

The study was to see how the new development would impact traffic in the already hazardous intersection and further warranted the need for improvements.

The intersection has been the site of many crashes over the years, with the belief among city officials and those working on the project that they are the result of the lack of turning signals in the traffic light, and turning lanes.

The project will add those components to the intersection to provide left turning lanes along each leg of the approach to the intersection, as well as the necessary right turning lane along state Route 14 to the west of the intersection, the release stated.

The project will also consist or signage and lighting improvements, guardrail, drainage and waterline relocations and pavement markings.

Willard said in the release that the most recent construction cost estimate is at $2.29 million and construction is expected to begin in March of next year, with the bid awarded in January of that year.

The project should be completed by October of 2018, according to the original ODOT schedule, he added.

To date, the city has already completed the required environmental clearance, right of way approval, and stage three review.

Willard said it was Dallis Dawson and Associates that reached out to ODOT on behalf of the city for the additional funding for the project after ODOT incorporated additional improvements into the project.

Dallis Dawson and Associates assisted the city with securing the original funding for the project and also performed engineering design, he added.

kwhite@mojonews.com

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