BATH TOWNSHIP — The Bath Township Board of Trustees has amended the list of road construction projects for 2018 once again.
The trustees signed off on a plan to mill and repave the northern section of Byron Road, which runs north and south from West Yellow Springs-Fairfield Road to State Route 235. The township trustees unanimously approved the milling and repaving of the southern section of Byron Road, from State Route 235 to West Dayton-Yellow Springs Road, during the May 2 township meeting.
The township had originally planned to apply an asphalt skin patching to potholes and areas where the asphalt had deteriorated on the northern section of road this year, and mill and repave the road in 2019. However, after reexamining the condition of the road, Township Road Supervisor Michael Rhoades stated that the township would save money in the end if they milled and repaved both sections of Byron Road this year.
Rhoades further explained that the condition of the northern section of the road had worsened, and skin patching the road would only be a temporary fix; yet, the project would cost the township $48,600. He noted that the estimated cost to mill and resurface the road this year would be approximately $70,000.
“The road has deteriorated badly. Therefore, we decided it would be a good idea to bite the bullet and mill and repave it this year,” Rhoades said.
Township Trustee Steve Ross said he had taken a second look at the northern section of the road as well, and he thought that the condition of the road in certain areas was “pretty bad.”
Ross also inquired about a starting date for the 2018 roadwork, but Rhoades said he did not have that information at that time. According to Rhoades, the paving contractor the township attained through the Greene County Engineer’s collective bid, John R. Jurgensen Company, had not provided him with a timeline for the roadwork. Rhoades said he would pursue that information.
Rhoades expressed again his concerns about moving forward with the road projects that included the application of a micro seal overlay. The original plan for 2018 called for using a micro seal overlay to 15 township roads that were paved with a chip seal surface treatment in 2017 and three other township roads. Rhoades said he was not satisfied with the condition of Dayton-Yellow Springs Road which a former paving contractor had applied a micro surface overlay to less than two years ago. He suggested postponing microsurfacing any township roads this year.
“The more I look at Dayton-Yellow Springs Road, the more I dislike it. The more I talk to road department personnel who have used micro surfacing on their roads, the more they do not like it,” Rhoades said. “I don’t want to make a bad decision. I rather come up with another plan. That is a lot of money to spend on something that might come apart.”
However, Rhoades pointed out that the micro surface overlays that were applied to residential roads in the township, which were less traveled, had held up well.
The Bath Township Board of Trustees will meet in regular session 7 p.m. Wednesday, May 30 at the township office, 1006 Yellow Springs-Fairfield Road.
