Ottawa Hills awards $1 million in pacts for Indian Road projects

1/11/2006

Contracts totaling about $1.1 million have been awarded for a waterline installation and for repairs and resurfacing of Indian Road in Ottawa Hills.

The project, including general street appearance, has been under discussion since a cost estimate was received in 2002.

The next year, a proposal that suggested a number of changes to the road in the vicinity of the Ottawa Hills schools was made to the village council and the board of education.

Many of those suggestions have been dropped, but authorities retained the idea of raised crosswalks for pedestrians at Evergreen Road and mid-block between Ashborne Place and Wicklow Road.

Both sites are used heavily by school children crossing Indian on their was to and from school.

The idea of raising the crosswalk portion of the street is to make the children and other pedestrians more visible to motorists.

The contract for the waterline installation has been awarded to Hank's Plumbing at a cost of $315,000, according to Jim Shaw, Lucas County sanitary engineer.

The work will involve replacing a 6-inch waterline with a 12-inch line from Secor to Evergreen roads, which should improve water pressure to residents north of Indian Road.

The line being replaced was installed in the 1920s, Mr. Shaw said, adding that it frequently needs repair.

The area will also get new fire hydrants, he said.

Improvements to the street will be done by B&J Concrete at a cost of $830,000, according to Mr. Shaw.

The project is being coordinated by Mr. Shaw's office, but is being funded by the county, the village and a grant from the Ohio Public Works Commission.

Lucas County is responsible for the waterline replacement and the village will be for the road work, although both totals will be offset by a state grant of $230,000.

Ottawa Hills administrator Marc Thompson said the village has asked that the work not begin until April, when asphalt will become available for the road work.

He said officials don't want the road to be torn up for the waterline work too much in advance of the ability to begin the pavement work on Indian Road.