Spring construction season begins in a few weeks in Bluffton.

The village's major project involves the continual upgrade of Jefferson Street.

Work on Jefferson Street Phase II will begin if not before, certainly by Monday, April 5, and will continue until the end of July.

Jesse Blackburn, village administrator, updated Bluffton council on the project on March 8. On Friday he provided the Bluffton chamber will a Zoom meeting update.

Blackburn described the phase II project as one to calm traffic. Once completed Jefferson Street will have a neighbor feel to it, unlike now, where is appears to be an industrial entrance to the village.

Jefferson Street will be closed from Main to County Line Road, even though Phase II involves work only from the Norfolk Southern Railroad tracks to the county line.

The entire street closures is mainly to keep larger truck traffic from navigating side streets in Bluffton. A detour will be set up prior to road closure.

As always, local traffic will create its own detours during construction.

Phase II was originally scheduled for 2020 but was put off one year due to state funding issues related to covid-19.

Council awarded a contract to Underground Utilities, Inc., of Monroeville, the low bidder for the project at $813,882.50. 

The project includes sanitary sewer line, laterals to each property, new storm and catch basins, with storm sewer laterals to each property, six-foot sidewalks, curbs and a retaining wall for some of the properties near the railroad.

The sidewalk and retaining wall construction will be completed in coordination with AEP transmission pole replacement.

A three-segment project
This year’s project is the middle segment of a three-part improvement of Jefferson Street-State Route 103.

In 2019 a new street was installed from Main to the Norfolk and Southern Railroad. That project also included the replacement of the bridge over Riley Creek and grade crossing improvements at the railroad.

Pedestrian facilities and gates were added to both sides of the track crossing in September 2019.

Six-foot bike-friendly sidewalks were installed on the northside of the street.

The final piece, slated for 2023 includes a 10-foot wide pedestrian pathway and 6-foot wide sidewalk connecting Jefferson Street from the county line to the Arby’s driveway and Lions Way Pathway.