Assistant City Manager Steve Bergstresser said the bridge has been approved for grant money totaling 95 percent of the construction cost to replace it.
He said the Ohio Department of Transportation will pay up to $2 million in construction costs to replace the Ridgeway Road Bridge for all modes of traffic, including vehicles, bicycles and pedestrians. Construction on the new bridge will begin in late 2020 or early 2021, when the ODOT funding will become available.
“We need to start the design process now due to the tight time frame,” Bergstresser said.
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The city began pursuing grant funding for the reconstruction of the bridge in late 2017. More than 70 percent of respondents to a survey about the bridge indicated that they wanted the bridge replaced for all modes of traffic.
Other survey options included replacing the bridge for only cyclists and pedestrians and removing the bridge without replacing it.
Councilman Bruce Duke said that he was happy for the residents who live in that area who responded to the city survey.
Resident Patricia Higgins said “tonight I am here on behalf of the neighborhood to thank the mayor and City Council for supporting the project.”
The total estimated cost to replace the bridge, including engineering design and right of way expenses, is $2,600,000.
The 52-year-old bridge crosses Dorothy Lane between Far Hills Avenue and Southern Boulevard. In 2005, the city spent $500,000 to repair the bridge, but those repairs are no longer considered sufficient.
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