With funds tight to commit to its annual pavement resurfacing schedule, the City of Delaware is seeking grant opportunities to aid in the cost of five upcoming projects in 2o26.
During Monday’s meeting of the Delaware City Council, a resolution was approved authorizing City Manager Paul Brake to enter into a cooperative agreement with Delaware County for an application to the Ohio Public Works Commission (OPWC). The application will seek funding from the OPWC’s State Capital Improvement and Local Transportation Improvement grant programs.
Should the grants be awarded, the five projects that would be included are approximately 6,100 feet of Pittsburgh Drive from South Houk Road to London Road and the entirety of Elizabeth Street, Johnson Drive, Henderson Court and Stover Court.
All five projects are expected to cost a total of $875,000. The OPWC grant would include up to $295,000, and Delaware County would contribute $150,000 through its Roadway Grant Assistance Program. The City’s portion would total $430,000. Delaware’s adopted 2025-29 Capital Improvement Plan includes a total allocation of $1.2 million for the project with $600,000 in local funding.
During Monday’s brief discussion, Director of Public Works Bill Ferrigno was asked by Councilman Kevin Rider why those particular roads were chosen to be included in the application. Ferrigno said part of Pittsburgh Drive is already being resurfaced, and in order to finish it, the OPWC funds are needed. He added that Elizabeth Street has been a point of concern for the community.
“Also, we wanted to try and stay in our industrial business area because they tend to have heavier traffic and heavier loads, so those streets deteriorate quicker,” Ferrigno told the council. “We’re trying to make sure we continue to treat those customers appropriately. And then Elizabeth Street, we’ve received a number of complaints including some through council regarding the condition of Elizabeth Street.”
Ferrigno noted that pairing some roads in need of attention but not necessarily high-traffic areas with higher volume roads such as Pittsburgh Drive and Elizabeth Street will help the City’s chances at a successful application.
“Elizabeth Street and Pittsburgh Drive specifically carry the type of traffic volumes that are needed in order to essentially get us points in an application,” Ferrigno said. “Streets with very little traffic, we need to pair those with streets with heavy traffic in order to put an application forward. So it helps roads like Stover (Court) that have very little traffic. When we pair it with Pittsburgh Drive or Elizabeth Street, our application scores better. So there’s a little methodology to putting together a couple of streets on these applications.”
Reach Dillon Davis at 740-413-0904. Follow him on X @DillonDavis56.
