Powell City Council has awarded a nearly $3 million contract to the Strawser Paving Company for the city's 2026 Street and Path Maintenance Project.
The project, approved unanimously at the council's Sept 1 meeting, includes initiatives like full-depth asphalt pavement reconstruction, asphalt milling and overlay, sidewalk and curb ramp improvements, pavement rejuvenation and more, according to an ordinance memo. It focuses on roads, shared-use paths and sidewalks.
The work falls under four categories with some overlap: pavement resurfacing with curb replacement and/or full-depth repair, shared-use path maintenance, partial-depth spot repairs and Reclaimite pavement rejuvenator.
Partial depth repair refers to the repair of a small spot in a roadway
or a parking lot, City Engineer Aaron Stranford told The Dispatch. Reclaimite is a pavement rejuvenator agent that helps extend pavement surface life, Stanford said.
For the full list of 2026 program work locations, see below:
- Pavement resurfacing with curb replacement and/or full-depth repair
- North Liberty Street, Thornbury Lane, City Hall parking lot (western parking bay), Zion Drive, Wagon Trail North, Wagon Trail East, Ashmoore Court, Gradall Court, Andover Drive, Donerail Avenue, Gainsway Court, Hartfield Court and Murphy Parkway (Powell Road to Wagon Trail East)
- Shared-use path maintenance
- Salisbury Drive, Sawmill Parkway, Zion Drive, Powell Road (Sawmill Parkway to Traditions Way), Murphy Parkway (Powell Road to Wagon Trail), Library Park, Laurel Valley Drive North, Grey Oak Drive (Sawmill Road to Shyanne Drive), Grandshire Drive and Powell Road South (Arbor Ridge Park)
- Partial depth spot repairs
- Isabella Blue Drive, Triple Crown Crossing, Friesian Drive and City Hall parking lot (main parking area)
- Reclaimite pavement rejuvenator
- West Case Avenue, Village Point Drive, Sharp Street, Beech Trail Court, Kingston Avenue, Bethany Avenue, O'Quinn Court, Whitegate Court, Woodsfield Court, Bluff Ridge Court, McCreary Court, Glenlivet Place, Squires Court, Andover Drive and Stamford Drive
How street and path maintenance became a priority
Since 2022, Powell has begun to "attack some of the deferred maintenance within the city," City Manager Andy White told The Dispatch. This revived ambition is thanks to voter approval in 2021 increasing the city's income tax from 0.75% to 2%, White said. Residents who work outside the city and pay taxes elsewhere get a 100% tax credit.
The city hired a third-party consultant, the Pavement Management Group (PMG), to help collect data on the city's street network and rate it on a pavement conditions index to set priorities for maintenance.
Each year, to complete the street program, Powell has PMG come in and record the streets so city officials can evaluate where the most need lies, White said. That information is used to put out a competitive bid, which Strawser answered this year to the tune of $2,996,266.74. Strawser was the only company that submitted a bid this year, Stanford said.
Murphy Parkway project to have large impact
Not only will Murphy Parkway from Powell Road to Wagon Trail East undergo pavement resurfacing, but it will also see shared use path repair.
"As far as kind of overall impact, I think that's probably one of the more major parts of this year's program," Stanford said.
The program refers to street and path maintenance for a reason, Stanford said. Almost $500,000 of the almost $3 million bid is an investment toward shared use path improvement.
"That's a considerable amount of improvements to our shared use path network for a community of our size," Stanford told The Dispatch. "So when you see that list, you see quite a bit of areas and that turns into quite a bit of investment that the city's making into making sure those are improved, safe, efficient and maintained."
The 2026 Street and Path Maintenance Project will be executed in two different phases, Stanford said. The first phase and the majority of the program will be completed this year for a contractual project duration of 90 days. The second portion – a 60-day window – can only be completed when school is out of session, Stanford said, due to certain project areas being adjacent to schools.
Dispatch Reporter Nora Igelnik can be reached at nigelnik@dispatch.com.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Road, path improvements coming in Powell after council awards nearly $3M contract
