Akron.com

Benner Road bridge reopens



Photo courtesy of the City of New Franklin

NEW FRANKLIN — The Benner Road bridge at the border of New Franklin and Lawrence Township reopened recently thanks to a coordinated effort between the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT), GPD Group, Ohio Public Works Commission (OPWC), Shook Co. LLC, CTL Engineers and New Franklin.
According to city officials, the bridge was deemed unsafe and closed in June 2020. Prior to that, city officials had received an Ohio Municipal Bridge Program grant of $861,845 and in late 2020 an OPWC grant of $77,000 was received to make improvements.
Shown above from left during a bridge reopening ceremony are: New Franklin Deputy Service Director Bryan Kepler, CTL Project Manager Jeremy McIntyre, state Rep. Bill Roemer (R-District 38), U.S. Sen. Kristina Roegner (R-District 27), New Franklin Council President Judy Jones (at-large), Mayor Paul Adamson, ODOT Engineer Josh Sturges, ODOT Capital Projects Manager Chad Root, ODOT Deputy Director Gery Noirot and GPD Project Manager Josh Slaga.
“This $1 million project was made much more affordable to the City of New Franklin thanks to contributions from ODOT’s Ohio Municipal Bridge Program and the OPWC, which made the city’s share of the project just $68,000,” said Adamson. “This project was a perfect example of communities working together for the common good with a big lift from state and federal funding sources.”