Recently, many people have asked questions and expressed concerns about the Taylor Road project. The topics have ranged from timing to roundabouts to drainage and other design features. This article is an attempt to inform the citizens of Columbus of the current status, what still needs to be done, and when it will be completed.
Project schedule
A project such as this, with federal funding, normally takes five to seven years from the start of the design process to the completion of construction. The engineering for this project began in 2006. The project, as it was being designed, was not popular with the residents of the area. The project was shelved and no work was done through two mayoral administrations, roughly eight years.
Since the project was federally funded (typically 80 percent federal), federal officials began asking the city if the project would be completed. If not completed, the federal funds that had been used would need to be repaid. The current administration dusted off the project and scheduled a neighborhood meeting to discuss the options for the project. The consensus was that the project should be redesigned and constructed to provide more neighborhood-friendly improvements, such as narrower traffic lanes, no left turn lanes, traffic calming features (such as medians and roundabouts), sidewalks and sidepaths. The city followed up with more public neighborhood meetings to ensure that the design was still on track. The project is currently being constructed as discussed at those meetings.
The city receives a fixed allotment of federal funds each year. The total estimated cost for the Taylor Road project was approximately twice the annual allotment. Therefore, the city was forced to split the project into two phases. This delayed the completion of both phases of the project.
Sometimes the bidding and construction processes do not go as planned. Due to rising construction costs related to COVID, the bids for the first phase of the project were higher than expected. Following INDOT mandated procedures, the project was rebid approximately four months later.
The city is also required to follow a prescribed utility relocation processes. The utility relocations on both phases of the project were not completed as scheduled due to many factors, such as storm repairs across the country and staffing shortages.
Roundabouts and other design features
As the city conducted public meetings in 2016, the top concern expressed by residents was the speed of vehicles, as the street existed and as planned at that time. It was clear that the residents wanted something to be done to reduce vehicular speeds. Many options were discussed and consensus of the neighborhood residents was reached on the following traffic calming features:
- The vehicular driving lanes should be narrowed.
- A median should be constructed between Rocky Ford Road and Fairlawn Drive.
- Two small roundabouts should be installed at Fairlawn Drive and at 31st Street.
- Sidewalks should be installed throughout the project on both sides of the street.
The roundabouts are scheduled to be completed next spring. Before that happens the engineers, Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. and emergency services will confirm the final configuration of the roundabouts. The roundabout designs have been checked as part of the design process. The roundabouts have been designed to allow some larger vehicles to make use of portions of the concrete aprons.
Crosswalks are planned for all approaches to both roundabouts. The pavement markings and traffic signs cannot be installed until the final paving work is completed. There are currently no active school routes crossing Taylor Road, according to BCSC. If future work in the area is completed, including a sidewalk connection to Richards Elementary School, a school crossing can easily be installed, but only if a safe school route is available. Currently, a connection along Fairlawn Drive from Taylor Road to the school is being considered.
Drainage
When the Taylor Road neighborhoods were constructed by developers, very few storm sewers were installed. Most of the area was drained by drywells and detention ponds into the very sandy soils in the area. This type of drainage system works well during minor rain events, but creates some temporary ponding during larger storms or longer duration events. The Taylor Road engineers designed the project to minimize any changes to the existing drainage system to avoid overloading existing drywells, ponds and downstream swales. The impervious area (pavement) was reduced when possible. In most areas the pavement width was reduced (from 40 feet to 22 feet) and any increases were kept to a minimum to minimize runoff increases.
In order to protect the long-term effectiveness of the drywells and detention ponds, and to meet federal requirements, temporary devices were installed by the contractor to reduce the amount of silt and other debris that could reduce the capacity of the drywells and ponds. Additionally, since the final surface course of asphalt was not installed before the asphalt plants closed for the winter, the inlet grates are higher than the adjacent pavement. This may cause some ponding of water temporarily. Installation of the final layer of pavement in the spring will resolve these temporary drainage issues.
Completion
At this time, the city, contractors, engineers, and utilities are all planning for completion of the construction processes in May 2022 (when the asphalt plants open and the weather is fit for paving). If you look back at the normal five- to seven-year project schedule, this project is within that schedule, given its restart in 2016.
The city is taking measures to minimize the construction duration for future projects. One such measure is to bid future projects earlier in the year and to complete projects in a single construction season whenever possible. Some 2022 projects are under contract already and others will be out for bids soon. When possible, utility relocation will be included in the project to expedite the process.
The city appreciates the patience of the Taylor Road residents who dealt with the disruptions for the last two years.
