Council hears details on 2025 street program, roundabout at Winchester/Gender and new headworks at water reclamation facility

City staff on Jan. 21 detailed the city’s major public-works projects for 2025, including resurfacing, sidewalk replacements, intersection geometry changes, a roundabout at Winchester Boulevard (west of Gender Road), and the start of a headworks contract at the Water Reclamation Facility.

Public Service staff reported EMH&T is completing 100% construction documents for the 2025 street program with bidding planned for Feb. 5 and openings Feb. 21. Major resurfacing is scheduled for Washington Street between Columbus Street South and the east side near the high school; additional resurfacing includes Pfeiffer Drive, Chesterville Drive and Cormorant Drive. The sidewalk program will concentrate on Ashbrook (sections 6 and 8), including Walnut Drive, Embers Lane, Jenkins and Murdoch.

Staff described multiple intersection improvements: geometric tightening at the Groveport/Washington Street intersection to shorten pedestrian crossings, and medians on West Waterloo Street at Chesterville Drive for traffic calming and to aid pedestrians. The medians were described as roughly 80 feet long and 9 feet wide and will use low, low-maintenance plantings so pedestrian visibility is preserved.

The Winchester Boulevard roundabout project west of Gender Road is in engineering review. Staff said temporary traffic control, utility relocations and temporary lanes will be constructed so traffic can be maintained during work; a construction start is anticipated in spring (April timeframe for temporary work with physical work to follow), with an overall project schedule likely spanning several months and potentially finishing in late fall. Staff emphasized the roundabout is intended to reduce signal stacking and improve safety by eliminating cross-traffic left-turn conflicts at the intersection.

Staff also reported the city has awarded the headworks construction at the Water Reclamation Facility to Kokosing Industrial; staff expect to issue a notice to proceed at the end of the month with physical construction to begin in several weeks to a couple months after submittals and preconstruction coordination. Staff warned the headworks work will have “potential impacts to operation of the existing plant” and will require close coordination.

Council members asked for traffic stacking studies and clarification on temporary traffic plans. Staff said formal traffic studies exist and will be shared; they described the temporary lane layout (using the south side of Winchester Boulevard right-of-way to maintain two lanes while stages are built) and noted coordination with property owners will be required for construction access.

Project timelines and next steps: staff will finalize bid documents, advertise the 2025 street program in early February, schedule preconstruction meetings for headworks, and develop detailed temporary traffic control (MOT) plans for the roundabout that will be shared with affected businesses and property owners.