Medina officials consider removing bump-outs in U.S. Route 42 resurfacing project plans for bids

MEDINA — Following a couple of failed bid attempts, Medina officials are considering removing the planned pedestrian bump-outs from the US. Route 42 resurfacing project. On Monday, Medina Engineer Pat Patton spoke at the Medina Finance Committee meeting about a request for City Council action that authorizes the bid and award of the resurfacing project. The proposed project would resurface U.S. Route 42, or Court Street, from about 400 feet north of Homestead Street to Lafayette Road. When first discussed in early 2024, the project began as a straightforward resurfacing project. But after three pedestrians were struck in Medina's square, it was transformed into a safety-improvement project. Patton previously said the Ohio Department of Transportation encouraged the city to apply for safety funds to address such concerns. Medina received a $500,000 ODOT safety fund grant to help increase the project's scope. The city planned to install several pedestrian bump-outs, which would extend the curb at each pedestrian crossing into Court Street and Broadway Street, between Washington and East Liberty Street. Patton said the city put the project out to bid in July, but received no bids. The bid package was then adjusted, adding more money to the estimated cost, making it $2.1 million. The city put the project out to bid again in early December, Patton said. A single bid came in, more than $1.1 million more than had been budgeted. To help reduce the estimated costs, Patton suggested setting aside the bump-out portion of the resurfacing project. In talking with contractors, Patton said the bump-outs were what added to the cost. While the city would set aside the bump-outs for now, Patton said Council could always revisit the idea in the future, as the plans are completed, and could seek out ODOT's safety fund grant. Medina City Council President John Coyne asked if they could add the bump-outs as an alternate bid, so that they could get an estimate on what they would cost for the city to complete. Patton said he would research potentially adding the bump-outs on as an alternate before Council is set to meet on April 13. The resurfacing project without the bump-outs would cost about $1.46 million. The Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency's TIP Award allocated $902,136 to the project, while the city would allocate $559,206. "We'd really like to get this resurfaced," Patton said. "It's a dire need of it, and we do have a deadline of June 30 to award this contract." Contact reporter Sara Crawford at (330) 721-4063 or scrawford@medina-gazette.com.