The Wood County Port Authority is taking action regarding the former rail bridge
spanning the Maumee River that will become part of a trail connecting portions
of Lucas and Wood counties.
The Port Authority heard a presentation on the matter by Rich Martenko of the
University of Toledo and representatives of area engineering firm Claude Brown
and Associates.
The bridge, which joins River Road in Wood County with River Road in Lucas County,
was acquired by the Port Authority from CSX in October for just $1 as part of a
Westside Rail Corridor initiative with a number of area entities and agencies.
The aim is to transform the 11-mile former CSX Westside Corridor railroad
right-of-way in Wood and Lucas counties into a multi-use trail in future years.
The land in total was purchased from CSX for $6.5 million late last year; the
1.5-mile portion of the land provided for the Wood County Park District, one of
the partners in the initiative, was purchased for $50,000.
The bridge has gone unused for decades and there had previously been questions as to
whether it could be rehabilitated for the project, or should be demolished.
Martenko outlined three scenarios for the project: first, a new bridge and bridge
piers could be built on existing footings, creating three possible bridge
designs; second, new bridge piers could be built at new locations in the river,
allowing for a pre-stressed concrete box beam bridge to be built; or third, the
existing piers could be rehabbed, though they would need to be increased in
height by "stubs" to fill a 16-foot gap that would be created between
the piers and a new bridge platform.
The total project costs could run between $7.8 million and $9.1 million. Additional
considerations, such as aesthetics, life of the structure, and others were taken
into consideration, Martenko said.
He and Claude Brown engineers recommended that the Port Authority pursue building new
piers at existing locations, with a pre-stressed concrete I-beam bridge, costing
just under $7.9 million.
The bridge itself would be 14 feet wide at a minimum, and would have waterway
clearance matching the existing Ohio Turnpike bridge due to Coast Guard
regulations.
Based on schedules for permitting, bidding, and actual construction, however,
completion of work on any of the finished bridge options is not expected for
more than four and a half years. Construction alone would take 24 months.
The Port Authority currently has $2 million in federal earmark funds to use on the
bridge project, but it will need an additional $1.9 million in local funds and
about $4.8 million minimum in further federal funds for the project. The Port
Authority recently submitted an application for $2.5 million from the U.S.
government.
Following the presentation, the board voted unanimously to move forward with Phase II
planning of the bridge with Martenko and Claude Brown, at a cost not to exceed
$13,000.
The board also approved a motion for an agreement, pending approval, with Miller
Diversified to pursue a $2,500 grant regarding a study for a potential ice
complex in Rossford.