ARCHBOLD WEATHER

Council Discusses Nov. 15 Meeting On Realignment Of St. Rts. 66, 2




Archbold Village Council discussed some details of the Tuesday, Nov. 15 public meeting on the proposed realignment of St. Rts. 66 and 2 along the present Co. Rd. 24 at its Monday, Oct. 3 meeting.

The meeting will be held from 4-7 pm at the Northwest State Community College Voinovich Auditorium.

Rather than a presentation, in which a speaker addresses the audience from a podium, the meeting will be open house-style.

Donna Dettling, Archbold village administrator, said the Ohio Department of Transportation prefers the open house format because it allows for one-on-one interaction between the public and ODOT officials.

While people will not be able to address the audience, there will be a formal comments sheet.

Study

Dettling told council a progress meeting on a study of the proposed realignment was held with ODOT officials Monday.

The phase one study, which includes “a lot of environmental information” along with preliminary engineering, options for the project, and an estimated price tag, has been completed, but is currently under review by “the folks who paid for it,” Dettling said.

The bulk of the cost of the $1.5-million study was paid by ODOT. The village of Archbold contributed $200,000 to the cost.

Once the Nov. 15 open house meeting is completed, Dettling said comments from the meeting will be rolled into a final version of the study, and will be posted on the village of Archbold website.

After?

Kevin Morton, councilman, asked what the next step is.

Dettling said after the preliminary study is completed, the project will go before an ODOT group known as TRAC, or Transportation Review Advisory Council.

TRAC will decide whether or not to recommend additional funding for the final engineering design and purchase of right-of-way for the project.

Dettling said ODOT officials stressed in the Monday meeting they want a solid timeline for the project. She said Bob Seaman, village engineer, is working on that portion of the project.

A final go or no-go decision on the project must come from a joint board of the Fulton and Henry County commissioners. No date for the meeting has been set.

Realignment

The idea of realigning St. Rt. 66 along Co. Rd. 24 has been talked about by elected officials for many years.

When John Kasich, Ohio governor, announced the state of Ohio would sell $1.5 billion in bonds, to be repaid by Ohio Turnpike tolls, in December 2013, money became available for highway projects.

Archbold village officials contend that from the start, all they wanted was an upgraded county road to handle truck traffic– a truck bypass, similar to Co. Rd. 22.

But only ODOT has the money needed to rebuild Co. Rd. 24, and ODOT officials would only consider rerouting St. Rts. 66 and 2.

The current plan calls for rebuilding Co. Rd. 24 to highway standards, then rerouting St. Rt. 66 from the turnpike interchange south along Co. Rd. 24 to US 6 in Henry County.

St. Rt. 2 would be rerouted east from the present St. Rt. 66 along Co. Rd. E to the current Co. Rd. 24, then turn south to rejoin St. Rt. 2 at Stryker Street, then turn west toward Stryker.

Village officials say upgrading the present Co. Rd. 24 would make it easier for heavy trucks and cars to get into and out of the village.

Opponents say the loss of highway traffic will hurt local businesses, will create safety hazards for farmers moving equipment to and from fields along Co. Rd. 24, and spoil the rural quality of life for persons who live along Co. Rd. 24.



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