The Mirror Newspapers Reflecting Life Along The Maumee River
BY MIKE McCARTHY | MIRROR EDITOR — Construction work in uptown Maumee is in high gear this month as multiple projects are taking place throughout the area, culminating in seven consecutive nights of Conant Street road resurfacing work that is scheduled to start on Sunday night as the project races toward completion.
In addition to the Ohio Department of Transpor-tation’s renovation of the Anthony Wayne Trail and the construction taking place on the U.S. 20A/I-475 interchange, much work is being concentrated in the five blocks of Conant Street between the Trail and the Ft. Meigs Memorial Bridge.
Here is a brief recap of what has been accomplished in the past few weeks as well as a projection of what is to come:
West John Street
Several new on-street diagonal parking spaces have been created on the north side of the 100 block of West John Street, adjacent to the Maison-Dardenne-Walker Funeral Home located at 501 Conant St.
Workers have poured the concrete curbs and a large portion of the adjoining sidewalk, with work continuing throughout this month.
Once the parking space construction on the north side of West John Street has been completed, workers will turn their attention to the south side of the 100 block to create additional diagonal parking spots in the same general area.
Uptown Fondue + Wine Bar
The building that will soon be home to the new Uptown Fondue + Wine Bar, located at 422 Conant St. on the corner of Conant and East John streets, is undergoing extensive renovation work in an anticipation of a late summer or early fall opening of the restaurant.
Construction crews have been busy working on the inside and outside of the former Citizens Bank building, with masonry repair work, new window installations, a fresh coat of paint and roof renovations either fully completed or well underway.
The area behind the building features the construction of an enclosed outdoor patio addition, featuring three stone-surfaced walls and built-in natural gas-fueled fireplaces to allow for a relaxing ambience and a three-season outdoor dining capability.
Last Thursday, stamped concrete flooring was poured in the patio area. This week, construction is focused on the interior of the building, with a kitchen area located on the left side of the building, adjoined by an open-spaced dining area in the front portion of the building.
New restrooms are being installed in the right portion of the building.
Municipal Parking Lot
The municipal parking lot that adjoins the Uptown Fondue + Wine Bar to the left and the Maumee Municipal Building to the right has been renovated with new concrete curbs and approach ways as well as with multiple layers of new asphalt surfacing.
The striping of the parking lot was completed two weeks ago and resulted in 56 new parking spaces, including two handicap-accessible spaces. The lot will be available for patrons of the new restaurant, for city of Maumee employees and also for the public.
An entrance and an exit driveway have been constructed in the 100 block of East John Street for access to the northern portion of the parking lot. The driveways are located just behind the patio area of the restaurant and directly across from the Speedway gas station.
A second egress point from the lot will be from a single one-way exit lane which empties onto the 400 block of Conant Street.
Island On The Bridge
The concrete-bordered island on the Ft. Meigs Memorial Bridge was installed three weeks ago. The primary purpose of the island is to prevent left turns onto the 100 block of the West Harrison Street for traffic coming from the northbound lanes from Perrysburg and also to prevent left turns onto the 100 block of East Harrison Street from traffic heading southbound on Conant Street toward Perrysburg.
Last year, it was determined by city officials that the 100 blocks of West Harrison and East Harrison streets would each be permanently closed to all vehicular access to and from Conant Street.
Another purpose of the island is to serve as a safe harbor for pedestrians crossing Conant Street in the area between East and West Harrison streets. Pedestrians will be able to cross Conant Street midway at the island and may pause in the small walkway on the island until traffic from the adjoining lane has cleared, enabling pedestrians to complete their crossing of the street.
The island will also serve as a guide to funnel Conant Street traffic heading northbound from the bridge toward Broadway Street. As traffic moves past the island and approaches Broadway, the northbound lanes will expand into three lanes: a right-turn-only lane onto East Broadway Street, a center lane for through traffic on Conant Street, and a left-turn-only lane for the 100 block of West Broadway Street.
The island will also be landscaped with decorative plants and small trees for aesthetic purposes.
Uptown Landscape
Over the past month, workers from Drew’s Landscaping in Bluffton, Ohio, have been busy planting ground cover in the flower beds on the east side of Conant Street throughout the uptown area.
The landscaping project has now shifted to the west side of Conant Street and workers hope to have everything done by the end of June.
Ft. Meigs Bridge
Last week, Helms Construction workers tackled the west side of Conant Street between West Broadway and West Harrison streets, installing new water mains parallel to the sidewalks along Conant Street.
Workers are upgrading the main water main and replacing the cast iron 6-inch-diameter pipe with a new 8-inch-diameter ductile iron pipe. The new pipe is being laid in a 5-foot-deep trench from the base of the bridge up to the adjoining alleyway that runs perpendicular to St. Joseph Catholic Church.
Once the water main pipes have been installed, workers will pour new concrete on the west side of Conant Street to resurface the road, followed by the installation of the adjoining sidewalks.
Plans call for on-street parking spots along the west side of Conant Street between West Broadway and West Harrison streets in the area near St. Joseph Catholic Church.
Change In Curb Cut
Construction workers were out on Conant Street on Tuesday afternoon, working to eliminate the existing curb cut in front of the block-long Monnette’s property on the east side of the 200 block of Conant Street and replace it with a continuous curb.
After discussions with property owner Marc Monnette, city officials have determined that whatever future development ends up in that area will not require a curb cut off of Conant Street, which should help alleviate traffic congestion concerns in front of that property.
Construction At Night
Workers are under a hard deadline to get all the Conant Street work completed by the end of this month. The entire stretch of Conant Street between the Ft. Meigs Memorial Bridge and the Anthony Wayne Trail is scheduled to be completely resurfaced by June 30.
In order to meet that deadline, road surface grinding and milling work on Conant Street will take place during the overnight hours starting this coming Sunday, June 18, according to Maumee city administrator Patrick Burtch.
The work will take place each night from 9:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. for a period of seven straight days, weather permitting. The work will be loud, dirty and inconvenient for motorists, but Burtch stated that he believes this is the most practical way to approach such an enormous task. The alternative options would have been even more of a logistical challenge and inconvenience, he concluded.
On Sunday and Monday night, the complete milling of the asphalt surface will take place. The next two nights will see the grinding of the entire five-block Conant Street road surface in preparation for the new asphalt. The fifth and sixth nights will consist of asphalt paving and the seventh night will be dedicated to striping the new road surface.
While the entire uptown stretch of Conant Street will be closed at night next week, the road will open to traffic during daytime hours, although the surface will most likely be very rough for the first four days.
The Finish Line
Maumee officials hope to celebrate the completion of the Conant Street portion of the Uptown Maumee Streetscape Improvements Project with an Uptown Maumee Music Fest celebration taking place on the closed streets of uptown Maumee on Sunday, July 2 and Monday, July 3, leading up to the annual Independence Day fireworks celebration on the evening of July 3.
