Road construction and repair in Athens County appear to be on schedule for this summer despite widespread power outages and record-breaking heat.
Infrastructure maintenance this year will include resurfacing roads, repairing potholes, installing drainpipes and mowing grass.
The biggest project county employees will be working on this summer is the Nelsonville Bypass, which is scheduled to have its northern section open by fall, Athens County Commissioner Larry Payne said in an email.
Athens is also adding turning lanes to, and slightly relocating the intersection of, State Route 50 West, as well as paving part of State Route 33, which is currently restricting traffic to one lane, Payne said.
Since the beginning of the summer, Athens County has resurfaced sections of more than seven roads with chip and seal, replaced drainage pipes on three county roads and is currently working on machine surface paving on County Road 27, as well as patching potholes throughout the county, Athens County Engineer Archie Stanley said.
The county plans to pave CR 19 with money from an Ohio Public Works Commission; bid out several Federal Emergency Management Agency-sponsored projects to repair damage from landslips and washouts that occurred last year; continue designs on three federal bridge projects on CR 85, CR 45 and CR 28; and replace other smaller bridges.
ld311710@ohiou.edu
