C-T Photo/ Catherine Stortz Ripley

CAPTION: Although Danner Park’s busiest months have come to a close, motorists in this part of town are still pleased to see Trenton Road reopened. The new 30-foot-wide concrete surface replaced a narrow 20-foot-wide asphalt roadway. The project also improved drainage at the park’s main entrance and removed ditches and steep banks on the north side of the road. Trenton Road was closed for more than three months, causing motorists to take an approximate 3-mile detour just to access the park from the north.

After several months of driving nearly three-miles extra to access Daryl Danner Memorial Park, Grand River Health Care and a number of residences in that area of town, motorists are welcoming the reopening of Trenton Road. The road was opened last Friday after having been closed since mid-July for total reconstruction. The project, costing $447,873, is being paid for through the city’s half-cent sales tax earmarked for permanent streets.

The project began in April and traffic started being affected in mid-June. By mid-July, the road was fully closed and remained that way throughout the park’s busiest seasons. Motorists wanting to access the park had to detour around the city’s golf course and come in from the north. “It’s a pain when it’s tore up, but it will be nice when it is done,” said Ron Urton, of the city’s contracted engineering firm of Shafer, Kline and Warren which worked with the contractor on the project.

The project involved removing a 20-foot-wide asphalt street with ditches and replacing it with a 30-foot-wide concrete street with curb, gutter and storm drainage. “This is a safer street to drive on now, it’s wider, and you don’t drive off into a ditch,” Urton said. He noted that the steep banks on the north side of the roadway are now gently sloped and that drainage has been improved at the intersection of Trenton Road and the park’s entrance. The work also addressed storm drainage issues at 12th and 10th streets.

Road Nears Completion
Published: Friday, August 22, 2008, C-T

C-T Photo / Laura Schuler

CAPTION: Work continues on Trenton Road and street superintendent Hugh Musselman says that the grading work is finished from the Danner Park entrance, west to Broadway (shown above). The next step, Musselman said, is pouring concrete on the south side of the street. The Trenton Road project has a contracted completion date of Aug. 28, 2008. However, Musselman said the rainy and wet conditions have slowed the project somewhat. The first home game for Chillicothe High School’s girls softball and soccer teams (which will be held at Danner Park) are set for Sept. 2, 2008.

Trenton Road Project Continues Near Danner Park
Published: Tuesday, July 1, 2008 By Lisa Houtchens, C-T

CAPTION: Roadwork will continue to keep Trenton Road near Danner Park partially blocked as the project continues. After drains are placed within the next several days, Trenton Road will be closed temporarily in order to widen the roadway between Broadway and a point 200 feet east of the main entrance of Danner Park. The project calls for replacing the existing asphalt road with a 30-foot wide concrete road with concrete curbs and guttering, along with storm drainage improvements.

C-T Photo / Lisa Houtchens

July 1, 2008 - The Trenton Road project has been in the works for a few months now and more work is still to come. The project has already installed storm drain pipes along the east side of Alexander Street, and along most of Trenton Road on the north side.

With the rainy weather in the past few weeks, the project has been slow going, delaying major roadwork until the coming weeks. At this point the storm drains are almost completely placed and the roads are set to be paved from Broadway past Alexander Road shortly. “I think in the long run it will all work out with all the ball games at Danner,” said City Administrator Dean Brookshier during Monday night’s city council meeting.

As the summer months continue, even more road work will begin to show up in Chillicothe. 
The 2008 street overlay program consists of 20 blocks slated for overlay and will take place toward the end of July, according to Street Superintendent Hugh Musselman. Third Street will is also slated for a makeover as topographic survey work along the street has already begun. Third Street, between Vine and Mitchell Road, is slated to be the city’s next permanent street project. The roadway length is about 3,000 feet long so it will probably be designed as one project, but constructed in phases, similar to the work done on Williams Street, according to Ron Urton, of the city’s contracted engineering firm of Shafer, Kline and Warren.

The road matters were discussed during the council’s workshop meeting held prior to the regular meeting. During the regular city council meeting, issues such as the airport runways, providing gravel for the spec building in the industrial park and animals in area parks were discussed.

The city approved the placement of gravel on the road leading to the spec building that will be used for storage by the Missouri Department of Corrections. The cost of laying the gravel will not exceed $7,500. Council members also approved an amendment using $300,000 in 2005-06 federal entitlement funds to do work at the airport. The amendment expands the scope of the current grant to include pavement maintenance, fence installation and access road construction. Also discussed was the ‘F105 Thud’ airplane displayed at the airport and the estimated costs to repaint the plane.

The issue of feral cats around town has become an issue and was discussed at Monday night’s council meeting. Comments made concerning the cats were addressed by the city administrator as well as the parks and recreation director and the matter will be placed on a future agenda.
“I have been city administrator for six months, and this began a long time ago,” Brookshier said. “And, I question why the ordinance hasn’t been enforced.”

At this time the city administrator and parks and recreation director Ron Krammes are actively working with the situation to make it best for the citizens and the cats, Brookshier said. 
In other business, the council approved the re-appointment of Don Overton to the Planning and Zoning Board, and appointed Ron Krammes to the Greater Chillicothe Visitors Region Board.

The council met in an executive session following the regular meeting to discuss real estate matters. Mayor Chuck Haney said today (Tuesday) that action was taken and notification will be released within 72 hours of the meeting.