COOLVILLE, Ohio — The Village of Coolville expects that State Route 144 will reopen in the coming days after heavy rains washed out a culvert in July.
“The culvert is in and it’s completely back filled,” interim Coolville Mayor Tiffany Rife Oman told the Independent. “The plan is to get the asphalt down this Thursday and to open up with one way traffic with signals on Friday.”
The Ohio Department of Transportation District 10 and local officials worked to repair the road, said Rife Oman.
Village fiscal officer James Neal Ford said the village’s portion of the repair cost is expected to be under $500,000 and will be covered by a grant.
Email correspondence the Independent obtained through public records requests shows that village officials notified ODOT about potential problems with the culvert in 2023 and 2024. Both times, the agency indicated that it was the village’s responsibility to undertake repairs.
In response to a communication from village council member Curtis Rood, ODOT District 10 Capital Programs Administrator Jamie Hendershot said department engineers inspected the culvert on Dec. 6, 2023, and found “significant deterioration.”
“The Department recommends that this culvert be replaced as soon as possible,” the email stated. At that time, ODOT estimated that the repair would cost $313,256 — and identified possible sources for the village to obtain the necessary funding.
In an email to former Coolville mayor Neil Cowen in late April 2024, Hendershot noted that a subsequent inspection of the culvert noted that the culvert “has an erosion problem that is getting worse.” A follow-up email sent the same day told Cowen that ODOT’s interpretation of state law placed responsibility for the repair upon the village because that section of the state highway was inside the village limits.
The village applied for a grant from the Buckeye Hills Regional Council to make the repair. On June 10, Rife Oman was notified that the village would be receiving $500,000 for the project — but the culvert washed out before any repair work could begin.
Rife Oman told the Independent that ODOT agreed to pay for the repair of the road and the replacement of the culvert, but that the village was still responsible for moving sewer and water lines.
“It’s hard for [the village] to come up with those kinds of funds,” Rife Oman said.
The village reached out to Ohio House Rep. Kevin Ritter, whose 94th District includes Coolville.
In a statement to the Independent about his involvement, Ritter said he spoke with representatives of the Buckeye Hills Regional Council and ODOT about repurposing the grant to cover the cost of moving the sewer and water lines.
Being able to do so “saved [the village] a whole lot of money,” Rife Oman said. In fact, the resolution approving the work lists the village’s cost of the project as $0.
Ritter praised Rife Oman for advocating for the village.
“The mark of a good public servant is knowing who to turn to when you need help,” the statement read. “It was a great team effort but it began with the Mayor working for her community.”
Rife Oman said the construction couldn’t have been completed at a better time, as the Federal Hocking School District is expected to begin classes on Monday, Aug. 18.
“I’m really thankful that ODOT really jumped on this and they’re doing their best to get it open,” Rife Oman said. “Not just for the school opening, but you know, it’s kind of a pain for people that live right on the other side of it to have to go all the way around.”
The culvert replacement is one of a number of emergency infrastructure repair projects around the county after intense rains caused landslides and washouts. In June, the City of Athens estimated that it would cost $750,000 to repair storm damage, while the county engineer estimated that the rest of the county had about $1.6 million in damages.
