$5.8M bid accepted for State Rt. 18 bypass work
4/20/2012An Allen County firm has won an Ohio Department of Transportation contract to build a 2.2-mile State Rt. 18 bypass around North Baltimore.
The low bid of just over $5.8 million, submitted by R.D. Jones Excavating Inc. of Harrod, Ohio, was almost 14 percent below the state's cost estimate for the project.
Construction is to start in May and be completed by December.
The two-lane bypass will begin at the intersection of State Rt. 18 and Main Street on the southern edge of North Baltimore and arc through mostly open farmland to rejoin Rt. 18 near Liberty Hi Road in Henry Township.
It is intended to provide a faster trip for trucks operating to or from CSX's intermodal freight terminal west of the village while relieving downtown North Baltimore of that truck traffic.