City wins federal and state transportation grants for road reconstruction and Safe Routes sidewalks

The city announced two transportation grants during the meeting. Service Director Tony Valerius told the council the city received a Surface Transportation Block Grant through the Metropolitan Planning Organization that will fund 80% of a nearly $1,800,000 construction cost and roughly 80% of the construction engineering for the Vermilion Road (Bridal) Reconstruction Phase 4B project.

Valerius said the phase 4B project will include full‑depth pavement replacement, widening to 11‑foot lanes with two‑foot shoulders, and will extend north from the northerly end of the Phase 4A project for about 2,125 feet. Funds for that grant will be available in state fiscal year 2029.

The city also received a $362,443 Transportation Alternatives Program grant from the Ohio Department of Transportation for Safe Routes to School Phase 3. That grant will fund new sidewalks on the east side of State Street from the railroad tracks south to Sailor Way Drive; funds will be available in state fiscal year 2026, Valerius said.

Why it matters: The grants cover the majority of construction costs for two projects aimed at improving travel lanes and pedestrian access. The reconstruction project includes lane widening and new shoulders on a 2,125‑foot stretch of roadway; the Safe Routes grant will add a sidewalk connection near the school corridor.

Council did not take immediate vote action tied to these grants at the meeting; the service director presented the awards as informational items and confirmed funding years and general project limits.