Mentor Seeking State Funding For Plaza Boulevard Extension, Other Road Projects

Mentor City Council can vote on legislation to authorize final application for state funding that will help the city pay for three separate road projects during its meeting at 7 p.m. tonight at City Hall.

The most noteworthy of these road projects is the Plaza Boulevard extension, which would lengthen Plaza Boulevard until it intersects with St. Clair Avenue. That would create a north-south corridor that connects Mentor Avenue and Tyler Boulevard.

Assistant City Manager Tony Zampedro previously said most of the engineering and other preliminary work is done on the project. However, the city wants to find some outside funding for the extension so it will not need to pay the entire $4 million that it's expected to cost.

The city, pending Council's approval, intends to ask the Ohio Public Works Commission for $750,000 in grants and another $150,000 capital improvement loan for the project.

If they receive the OPWC funding, construction would begin in the late summer of 2013 and be finished by the late spring of 2014.

The city is also requesting OPWC funding for two other projects -- one in and around Hoose Road and the other on Route 306.

The first of the two is a box culvert removal and replacement on Hoose, as well as an asphalt overlay on Hoose, Kings Hollow and King Memorial roads south of Bringman Court.

The project is expected to cost $565,000. The city will ask the OPWC for a grant to cover half of the project.

Finally, the city is looking to perform full-depth concrete repairs on Route 306 from Route 2 to Bellflower Road.

The project is expected to cost $300,000; and the city is asking the OPWC for a $50,000 grant.

Both the Hoose and Route 306 projects are slated to begin in late summer 2013 and end in late fall the same year.

Legislation for all three road projects is attached to this story as PDFs. The agenda for tonight's Council meeting is also attached.