SIDNEY — One of the most important (and most expensive) investments the city of Sidney has is its roadway infrastructure.

According to a press release from the city explaining the upcoming pernament tax levy, with over 285 lane miles of roadways to maintain, the cost of preventive maintenance, resurfacing and reconstruction is severely outpacing the city’s ability to adequately maintain its streets and bridges. The current cost to resurface a street is $150,000 per lane mile. If the city were to resurface every street this year with the standard 1½ inches of asphalt, the cost would be $42,750,000.

If alleyways were included, it would tack on an additional $2,700,000. Alleys are items that are often “unfunded” because of their lack of traffic.

In addition, the city has 62 bridge structures to maintain. While some of these “bridges” are little more than culverts under the roadway, others are massive structures. One example that has been “unfunded” is the bridge that will cross the CSX railroad connecting Fourth Avenue with Hoewisher Road. When the bridge was first anticipated in 2002, the cost of the bridge was $2,280,000.

The bridge has remained “unfunded” as it was deemed unnecessary until additional housing in the area would warrant construction. Now the additional housing in the Burr Oak subdivision is making the bridge’s construction necessary. Unfortunately, however, inflation and other factors have increased the cost of the bridge to more than $12,800,000

Over the last decade, the cost to repair or replace curb and gutter has increased 75%. That cost increase has been driven in large part by the cost of concrete, which according to the Consumer Price Index, has increased in cost more than 119% in the past ten years.

While the city emphasizes preventative maintenance measures such as crack sealing and asphalt rejuvenation to extend the useful life of our streets, there are many streets that are beyond their useful life and in need of being reconstructed. One of the streets in need of major reconstruction is Wapakoneta Avenue from Russell Road to Ohio Avenue. Another is Fourth Avenue from Russell Road to Paul Street. Still another is Vandemark Road from Campbell Road to Fair Avenue. And still another is Ohio Avenue from Water Street to Clay Street.

The cost to reconstruct these “major” roadways ranges from $3,000,000 to $5,000,000 per mile, not including necessary utility improvements. (The city always attempts to replace utilities prior to reconstructing a street to avoid having to “ruin” a newly resurfaced street with necessary utility repairs.) The City is limited in its ability to undertake these important, large-scale reconstruction projects, as it would severely limit having adequate financial resources to continue to properly maintain the rest of the existing road network.

There are also several bridge projects on the horizon that will require major capital investment by the city. Planning for the replacement of Fourth Street bridge over the CSX railroad tracks (between Campbell Road and Fair Road), will need to begin in the next 3-5 years. The preliminary cost for this project is $5,000,000. Another is the already-mentioned bridge over the CSX tracks that will connect Hoewisher Road and Fourth Avenue (next to Lehman High School). Still another is the bridge across the CSX tracks on Spruce Street. That bridge has been on the drawing board for some years, with construction now expected to begin in 2026. That bridge is currently budgeted to cost more than $5,000,000.

“Unfortunately, the only way to adequately maintain our streets and bridges is with additional funding,” County Commissioner and Streets & Safety Plus Committee Chair Bob Guillozet said. “Unlike the Federal government, Sidney does not have a printing press that can print additional money. The only way to maintain and improve upon what we have is through additional tax dollars.”

“Most taxpayers seem unaware of the fact that in 2012, Gov. (John) Kasich recommended and the State Legislature approved cutting the Local Government Fund in half,” Sidney Mayor and Streets & Safety Plus Committee Co-chair Mike Barhorst said. “Two years later, the fund was cut in half again. Despite the State having more money than ever before in history, those funds have not been restored. It is estimated that those cuts have cost the city of Sidney somewhere between $21,000,000 and $25,000,000.”

“We can only stretch existing resources so far,” Sidney Vice Mayor and Streets & Safety Plus Committee Co-chair Steve Wagner said. “The fact is that we continue to lose ground financially. We simply have to bite the bullet and move forward if we want to maintain the momentum that we’ve built over time.”

The one-half of one percent earned tax permanent levy will be on the Primary Ballot on March 19. It will replace the .15% five-year levy restricted to street and bridge maintenance and repair.