By JARED ORZOLEK

orzolek@crescent-news.com

NAPOLEON -- Road and bridge construction in Henry County will divert traffic on a variety of city and county roads during the 2008 construction season, but these projects will improve several significant thoroughfares by this fall.

The county engineer's office has budgeted $1.6 million for road, bridge and culvert construction projects this construction season. The budget is down significantly from the $2.5 million set aside for the 2007 construction season as the cost of these projects is funded by gas taxes and license plate fees.

"Here in the last few years we have had to cut back on the amount of roads we can pave," said Tim Schumm of the county engineer's office. "We have to pick it up with the chip and seal. It's just the economics of it."

More than eight miles of county roadways are slated to be improved, including one mile stretches on County Road 2, from Roads L to M; County Road T, from Roads 12 to 13; County Road 2, from Road E to North Street in Deshler; County Road H, from Ohio 108 to Road 14; and County Road 17, from Ohio 18 to Road F.

Also improved will be two 1.5-mile sections of County Road P, from Ohio 65 to Road 5-A and Road 17 to Jahns Road.

One mile of streetways at the fairgrounds will also be repaved.

The cost of the resurfacing of the roadways is $710,000 and the project will be completed by Gerken Paving.

Schumm said the engineer's office maintains a list of county roads that need to be repaired. This list helps officials decide which roads to pave each year.

"At the end of the season, we drive out roads and look at them to see which ones are starting to show wear," Schumm said.

Two bridges are slated to be improved -- crossings on County Road 17-C in Napoleon Township and County Road F-1 in Marion Township.

The estimated cost of these bridge improvements is $293,000 and the county anticipates that state funds will provide 50 percent of the costs. Bids for the bridge improvements are slated to be submitted in June.

Of the 284 bridges in Henry County, 27 have load limits and four are closed.

The county will also apply chip and seal to close to 30 miles of roadways at a cost of $225,000.

Culverts slated to be improved are on County Road C in Bartlow Township, County Road 18 in Napoleon Township, County Road 17-E in Freedom Township, County Road 10 in Liberty Township and County Road 5-B in Washington Township.

The total cost of culvert improvements is estimated at $290,000.

Schumm said the cold and damp spring weather is keeping county crews from patching roadways and beginning these culvert repairs.

"We can't do anything until it dries out," Schumm said.

In the city of Napoleon, the most anticipated construction project will improve Woodlawn Avenue, from Glenwood Avenue to Scott Street, at a cost of just over $2 million. This project is partially funded by a $500,000 state loan with zero interest.

Underground Utilities Co. of Monroeville will complete the project, which involves the improvement of the street, curbs, sidewalks, water lines and storm sewers.

The project is part of Napoleon's efforts to comply with EPA mandates.

According to city engineer Chad Lulfs, Napoleon will also resurface Jahns Road and part of Shelby Street and put a new layer of asphalt on an access road in Ritter Park.

Another construction project in Napoleon will be completed by the Ohio Department of Transportation.

Vernon Nagel Inc. has been awarded the contract to complete the Glenwood Avenue overpass over U.S. 24 on the west side of Napoleon at a cost of $2,679,000.

Work on the bridge project is expected to begin this month.

The U.S. 24 span will be built between the Ohio 108 and U.S. 6 interchanges in Napoleon as part of the highway improvement project stretching from Toledo to Fort Wayne.

The overpass will connect the Glenwood Estates trailer park and a future senior citizen housing complex to the west side of the city -- an area which includes parks, schools, churches and the city pool and golf course.

The anticipated completion date for the project is in August 2009, according to ODOT.

Lulfs said construction on both Glenwood Avenue and Woodlawn Avenue this summer is not ideal for traffic flow, but urged motorists to be patient.

"It will be nice when it's all done," he said.

ODOT will also oversee work on other sections of the U.S. 24 project in Henry County.

Miller Brothers Construction Inc., Archbold, was awarded the contract for the U.S. 24 route improvements from Napoleon to County Road 4.

The project bid was just under $48 million, which was 15 percent lower than the engineer's estimate of $56.3 million.

Work will begin in May, and the project's completion date is fall 2011.

In northwest Ohio, U.S. 24 has become a critical shipping route, with trucks representing a third of the overall traffic volume.

When complete, the widening and other route improvements are expected to reduce safety concerns about the mixture of truck traffic and residential travel along the now mostly two-lane, rural highway. It is also expected to spark additional economic development throughout the region.