Butler St. price plummets

Project updates on major Sandusky roads • Today — Butler Street • Friday — Columbus Avenue • Saturday — Perkins Avenue SANDUSKY — Credit good timing for a major road project coming in 19% under budget. During a recent public meeting, Sandusky city commissioners approved a $890,000 contract to reconstruct Butler Street. Earlier this year, when first announcing the long-awaited project, officials pegged this project at $1.1 million. So what happened? It "can be attributed to aggressive bidding as contractors are looking to book work for early next construction season," said Josh Snyder, the city's assistant engineer, noting the project's parameters didn't change at all. Officials plan on spending dollars they previously received through the American Rescue Plan Act. These stimulus dollars helped local governments, including Sandusky, rebound from financial hardships brought on by COVID-19-related factors. In total, the city obtained $18 million. Placed on the back burner for years, if not decades, officials attributed funding as the main hurdle in getting their road redone. Commissioners originally wanted to direct money from a Cedar Point parking tax on this project, however, plan on redirecting those funds elsewhere. There's also a time limit, up until 2026, for when governments must spend stimulus dollars. While work could start later this year, all tasks on Butler Street must wrap up by June 1 — shortly after when Cedar Point will open for its 2024 season but right before it gets busy heading into summer. Focused on the fix For Butler Street, reconstruction work revolves around: • Tearing up the entire road • Replacing its entire base • Paving the lanes with blacktop "Being one of the most heavily traveled non-state routes within the city, it is an important route for both residents and commerce on the east side of town," Snyder said. "The city has received a lot of feedback from residents, truckers and businesses that traverse this road on a regular basis complaining of its poor condition," he added. "After discussions with commissioners, the public and Cedar Point, it was decided to keep Butler Street." Tasks also aim to make the road less confusing for commuters. Today, on this three-lane road, its middle lane switches — going back and forth as indicated by an overhead red "X" or green arrow — indicating if northbound or southbound traffic can access it. A red "X" means "no," and a green arrow translates to "yes." Depending on the time and day, it helps alleviate congestion to or from Cedar Point. For example, during a morning in July, the middle lane allows for additional northbound traffic heading into Cedar Point. At night, it switches, as more people leave the amusement park. One person, in particular, looks forward to the changes. "This work has been neglected for far too long," city ex officio mayor Dick Brady said. Brady noted his commission faced the dilemma of this project costing so much money. If officials had dedicated local street funds for this transformation, then no other local roads would have received dollars for a whole calendar year. But with federal dollars secured and now set for this initiative, "Residents will benefit from this work without paying anything toward it," said Brady, noting many other road projects can occur this year due to good budgeting practices.