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Pettisville Sidewalk Project Pushed Back To 2014




Issues ranging from additional survey work to batsuitable habitat have been cited as the reasons the Pettisville sidewalk project has been pushed back.

The project, funded by a $440,000 federal “Safe Routes To School” grant, was set for construction this year.

The Ohio Department of Transportation administers the grant program.

Imad Bdeiri, ODOT project manager, said in an email that during project development, “additional items had to be addressed.”

The items included:

•Additional survey work was needed as the result of public meetings.

•Encroachments on public right-of-way were discovered, and had to be resolved.

•Coordination with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service is needed because a bat-suitable habitat was found in some trees marked for removal.

•The project was changed from local-let to ODOT-let; in other words, rather than having Fulton County commissioners issue contracts for construction, the project was changed to allow ODOT to issue construction contracts.

Bdeiri also said ODOT was working with the Pettisville school district on an agreement allowing work on school property, but Steve Switzer, district superintendent, said that was no longer an issue.

“Due to the above reasons, the project schedule got shifted to early 2014,” Bdeiri said.

David Wright, Fulton County planning director, said, “It would be safe to say at this point construction could last from April through July, 2014.”



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