Fairborn Maple Avenue work costs pass $4M due to ‘unforeseen issues’

Credit: FILE

Credit: FILE

FAIRBORN — The cost of the second phase of Fairborn’s Maple Avenue traffic safety project is increasing, topping the $4 million mark.

The work from Doris Drive to Dayton-Yellow Springs Road has incurred “many unforeseen issues” and its price is now about $328,000 more than the approved contract of about $3.81 million, according to the city.

The cost increases are associated with “issues encountered during underground excavation, bad base under the roadway and the addition of curb, and driveway approaches” on the road’s east side, Fairborn Engineer Lee Harris said in a memo.

Fairborn City Council added $400,000 Monday night in a special meeting, increasing the costs to just under $4.14 million. The price of the first phase was more than $3 million, city records show.

Council approved two measures to take $200,000 each from Greene County licensing fees and the 2014 street levy funds, as Harris suggested.

Phase II includes full-depth pavement repairs, asphalt resurfacing and a 10-foot wide separated shared-use path for bicycle and pedestrian traffic, according to the city.

To improve safety, under-utilized, on-street parking on the south end of the project will be removed to create a consistent three-lane road section, documents show.

The work also includes some curb replacement, new ADA curb ramps, drainage improvements, new crosswalks, and enhanced pedestrian crossing signs, city records state.

Phase I, which involved Doris Drive to Dayton Drive, included many of the same improvements. It started in 2020 and was completed last year.

Meanwhile, starting Aug. 15, traffic on Maple Avenue will switch to southbound only from Doris to Dayton-Yellow Springs, the city said Monday. The traffic flow will remain this way for the remainder of the project.

Traffic on Maple has been restricted to northbound travel since Phase II began, according to the city.

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