Stow City Council Bridges the Gap Between Infrastructure and Safety

The Stow City Council held a meeting on Thursday, where a new program from the Ohio Department of Transportation was introduced and adopted. The program is called the Municipal Bridge Inspection Program. This entails inspections from the Ohio Department of Transportation on all of the bridges within the City of Stow. This program comes at no cost to the city, and will assess the condition of the bridges to make sure they are safe and secure. 

“A lot of these bridges in Stow are under the maintenance of Summit County. So some of these

inspections are going to go to the county,” said Jeremy McIntire, Stow City Council Member At-Large. “But, ultimately they can lead to funding opportunities to fix bridges in light of the findings.” 

The council could not confirm how the program is being funded, since it is coming at no cost to the city. McIntire believes that the Ohio Department of Transportation is funding it as part of their Municipal Bridge Inspection Program. 

The city of Stow has 20 to 22 bridges, however any bridge that crosses over water, or off a county highway is handled by the county or the state. Stow has 11 bridges that meet the criteria of the inspection program. To meet the criteria, a bridge must have a span greater than or equal to 10 feet.

“Not that we have those giant bridges in big cities, but we still want to maintain our infrastructure and make sure it’s safe for our public,” said Cyle Feldman, Stow City Council Member At-large.

The inspection is set to happen sometime during 2023 with no end date present at this time. The bridges in stow have never previously been inspected. Once the inspection is complete, ODOT requests timely implementation following their results. 

“I support it because it was at no cost to the city,” said McIntire. “Then the city benefits by opting in at no cost just to have the inspections to know the condition of the bridges that meet the requirements.” 

Currently, the City of Stow does not have any bridges that are on a funding plan since they are monitored by either Summit County or the state of Ohio. The Municipal Bridge Inspection Program opens the door to potential funding for required repairs to the bridges, since the inspected bridges would be under the provision of Stow.

“Many of the bridges are fairly new,” said Jim McCleary, City Engineer. “Like on Springdale and Treeside, those have gone in within the last 2 or 3 years”

The council made a swift motion to adopt the program, with eagerness to keep their citizens safe and their bridges sturdy. 

The Stow City Council meeting is about to kick off, stay posted for updates.

— Nicholas Clementi (@Nclementiksu) October 27, 2022

Ordinance 22-164 Ordinance providing for the expenses of the City of Stow for the year 2023 and declaring an emergency has been adopted.

— Nicholas Clementi (@Nclementiksu) October 27, 2022

Ordinance 2022-170 authorizing the mayor to enter into an agreement with the Ohio Department of Transportation To enter into the Municipal Bridge Inspection Program has been adopted

— Nicholas Clementi (@Nclementiksu) October 27, 2022

Ordinance 22-166 Ordinance authorizing an expenditure for the purchase of resale concessions and miscellaneous supplies for Fox Den Golf Course frame US foods Inc has been adopted.

— Nicholas Clementi (@Nclementiksu) October 27, 2022

The meeting has been adjourned, all dispositions of ordinances and resolutions have been adopted.

— Nicholas Clementi (@Nclementiksu) October 27, 2022