October completion expected for Sawmill Parkway

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Delaware County commissioners were updated Monday by county Engineer Chris Bauserman on the progress of the Sawmill Parkway extension and other road projects.

“We have an end-of-October completion date,” Bauserman told commissioners of the Sawmill Road project. “There are some factors out there beyond our control in the name of relocation of some utilities.”

Bauserman told commissioners there are still issues with getting utilities moved where U.S. 42 and Sawmill Parkway are to intersect.

“We’re still waiting for AEP to relocate utility lines in that area,” Bauserman said. “I’m optimistic that we can still meet the schedule but if we can’t, it won’t be for anything under our control.”

Commissioner Gary Merrell asked if there was anything commissioners could do to push the work along.

Bauserman told commissioners it came down to a shortage in labor in moving forward. “I understand that utility relocation is a problem all around Ohio right now,” Bauserman said. “There’s just not enough man power to do everything that needs to be done.”

Commissioners also approved a “cooperative government swap” of easements with the city of Westerville.

Bauserman told commissioners the county engineer’s office needed an easement from Westerville to complete the Worthington Road expansion project. Westerville needed an easement for a future bike path.

“We’re proposing as cooperative government agencies to swap these easements,” Bauserman said. “In exchange for the easement, we were willing to grant the city of Westerville an easement that will allow their future bike path to go under a bridge we’re replacing.”

“The bike path cost would still be Westerville’s, correct?” Merrell asked.

“We’re not building the bike path,” Bauserman said. “It would just give them the ability to do that in the future and I think it’s a very fair arrangement.”

Commissioners approved the streets of the 38 single-lot housing development of North Farms just along North Road in Lewis Center into the public road system. The development is now ready for houses to be built.

“That’s a busy subdivision, a lot of houses going up,” said Commissioner Jeff Benton. “It has happened real fast.”

Bauserman updated commissioners on other construction projects currently in progress.

“The widening project on Worthington Road, the Powell Road project and the extension on Gemini, that will be known now as Ikea Way, all are supposed to be completed by the end of October,” said Bauserman. “There is a lot going on in that area right now.”

By D. Anthony Botkin

[email protected]

D. Anthony Botkin may be reached at 740-413-0902 or on Twitter @dabotkin.

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