It’s a problem plaguing many Northeast Ohio cities - which pothole-filled roads should be repaved first?
Morgan Ave. in Elyria is riddled with potholes and bumps, and all that's left of parts of the street are crumbles.
The city had plans to repave the road, but when the engineering department placed the price tag at more than half a million dollars, city council changed its mind, saying they only have so much money to work with each year.
The exact price for fixing all of Morgan Ave. is $600,000.
With millions needed to fix the worst roads, council decided they could fix parts of 12 other roads with the money meant to fix Morgan Ave., roads like nearby Adams, which is also crumbling. Elyria city council members listed the roads they want fixed, and the city’s engineering department will rank the roads in need of repairs based on how damaged they are.
“I know they have a lot of priorities to deal with, but we’d like our street fixed too,” said Morgan Ave. resident Brian Wade.
Wade said he knows the city only has so much money to fix its roads, but he feels Morgan Ave. should still be on the priority list to get repaved.
“Our road has been in terrible condition for years, and you can see the street, it looks like bombs were dropped in our road,” Wade said.
Elyria Councilman Marcus Madison said city council is trying to get the biggest bang for its buck by fixing as many roads as possible with the money they have to work with.
“So we’re trying to figure out exactly where we can spread that money throughout all of the entire city, and how we can make a big impact,” Madison said.
Councilwoman Brenda Davis, who represents the ward where Morgan Ave. is located, said new fire hydrants and water lines have been put in along Morgan Ave., delaying its repaving. She said the street will possibly be repaved next year.
“Well, it’s always next year. It’s destructive to our vehicles, you tear your car up just trying to get home. I don’t even come down Morgan Ave. anymore, I come down another street to get to my house, because Morgan is so bad,” Wade said.
City council will vote Monday night on whether to approve the streets on the priority list to get repaved.
