City gives thanks for early finish

Kokosing Construction Co. wraps up the $6 million East Wooster Street widening ahead of schedule, putting it in line for a $200,000 bonus.

BOWLING GREEN - Getting the job done early paid off for the contractor hired to do the $6 million widening project on East Wooster Street.

State and city officials said yesterday that Kokosing Construction Co. of Fredericktown, Ohio, will receive a promised $200,000 incentive payment for completing the work by Thanksgiving.

The project was to wrap up in August, 2005.

"That's a very happy thing for the city of Bowling Green," City Administrator John Fawcett said. "They did an excellent job of not only cooperating with the city and the state and the university, but also their [subcontractors] were exceptionally dedicated."

The city will pay the $200,000 incentive with money that was set aside but not spent to buy property for the widening project.

Work started in March on widening East Wooster to five lanes from I-75 west to Mercer Road and to rebuild and widen the three lanes from Mercer Road west to Enterprise Street. Utilities were relocated underground, and new sidewalks, curbs, and landscaping installed.

Much of the construction occurred along the Bowling Green State University campus, and the project was intended to improve traffic flow along the campus to the north and the busy commercial strip to the south.

Joe Rutherford, spokesman for the Ohio Department of Transportation's District 2 office, said good weather early in the project expedited the contractor's progress. As of yesterday, the work was "substantially complete," he said.

"Were taking care of small odds and ends, but for all practical purposes the work is complete," Mr. Rutherford said.

He gave local businesses credit for communicating their concerns and working with ODOT to make the project go smoothly.

"I think the job looks very nice. I think Kokosing did an excellent job," Mr. Rutherford said. "We had excellent cooperation among the city, the university, and the contractors and the businesses. There's a lot of credit that needs to go around."

He added that with the East Wooster Street project done, the state is scheduled to have a traffic signal installed by next weekend on State Rt. 25 at State Rt. 582 north of Bowling Green.

ODOT also plans to have a traffic signal installed at U.S. 20 and Lime City Road east of Perrysburg by Christmas.

- Jennifer Feehan