By Ryan Berry

DailyAdvocate.com

GREENVILLE — Darke County is set to have over 15 miles of roadway paved at a greatly reduced cost to the county thanks to a federal grant that will pay for 80 percent of the project. The Darke County Commissioners accepted a bid for review from Walls Brothers Asphalt on Tuesday at their regular meeting.

According to Darke County Engineer Jim Surber, the project will resurface 5.14 miles of Horatio-Harris Creek Road from State Route 121 to Gettysburg-Webster Road, 5.48 miles of Beamsville-Union City Road from State Route 49 to Greenville-St. Marys Road and 4.97 miles of Gettysburg-Webster Road from the Gettysburg Corporation to State Route 185. This project has been in the works for four years. When asked why the project has taken so long, Surber pointed to the 10-pages of plans and the 94-page bidding document the bidder was required to go through. “That what’s required on a job of this nature.” He added, “The wheels of government turn awful slow. The reason it took four years is so I could qualify the 80 percent federal funding. Even though it takes four years, it is still well worth it when you get 80 percent of it paid for.”

The project spans parts of five townships in Darke County, including Brown, Richland, Wayne, Greenville and Adams.

Surber laid out how much material will be used for this multi-million-dollar project. He said, “The project includes 21,861 gallons of trackless tack coat, 18,504 tons of asphalt, 2,536 tons of crushed aggregate and all pavement markings and incidentals.

Walls Brothers Asphalt was the only bidder and submitted a bid of $2,206,038.87. The engineer’s estimate on the project was $2,260,086.25. The bid will now be reviewed to ensure there are no errors. Once commissioners receive the review, they will have an opportunity to accept the bid.

Commissioners Matt Aultman, Marshall Combs and Larry Holmes approved a contract with Burgess & Niple, Inc. To begin the remediation work on the former Warren Sunoco in Union City. The cost to clean up the property is $153,250. The county received funding for this project because it is considered a Brownfield Site. The contractor will have until June 1, 2024 to complete the project.

The Commissioners were also able to advance back over $400,000 into the county funds after receiving some of the grant money from the 2022 FAA Terminal Construction Grant. The county had previously paid for the work that was done and was waiting to receive the grant funding.

The Darke County Commissioners meet on Tuesdays and Thursdays, 1:30 p.m., at the Darke County Administration Building. The meetings are open to the public.

To contact Daily Advocate Editor Ryan Berry, email [email protected].