Curb ramp replacement to cost city

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The Seymour Board of Public Works and Safety has approved more than $123,000 in additional funding this year to pay for road maintenance work.

Former city engineer Nathan Frey, who now serves as a project manager for Qk4, said Thursday the city needs to replace a lot of existing curb ramps because they are outdated and do not meet current specifications for accessibility.

When streets are repaved, municipalities must update curb ramps to comply with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act or risk losing federal funding, Frey said.

The most work will be done on Laurel Street from Kasting Road east to the railroad. Other areas include Chestnut Street from North Park to Laurel streets, Cottage Circle, Indianapolis Avenue from Seventh to Ninth streets and East Second Street from Indianapolis Avenue to the dead end.

Other items to be paid for through the additional funding include striping for stop bars at stop signs, markings for bicycle lanes and the replacement of parking blocks on South Street that were removed for paving.

The additional work was inadvertently left out of the city’s road paving contract with Dave O’Mara Contractor Inc. and is resulting in a 5% increase, which will not be reimbursed through the state’s Community Crossings Matching Grant program, Frey said.

The city contracts Frey to oversee its road maintenance program, which he developed and initiated in 2014. That plan has helped Seymour secure more than $4 million in state funding from the CCMG program along with federal transportation dollars.

As part of its CCMG funding this year, Seymour is spending around $2 million to pave portions of 40 streets totaling 7 miles.

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