ODOT to break ground on new garages

VW independent/submitted information

LIMA — The Ohio Department of Transportation District 1 will hold two separate ground breaking ceremonies to officially begin construction of new facilities in Paulding and Defiance counties.

A new ODOT Paulding County garage will be built at 833 Wayne St. in Paulding, the same location as the former garage. A new outpost in Hicksville will also be constructed and will be located next to Hicksville High School at the intersection of Ohio 2 and 49. It will replace the current facility located on Ohio 18 on Hicksville’s east side.

A ceremony at the site in Paulding County will be held at 9 a.m. Monday, April 18. Then at 11 a.m. the same day, a ceremony will occur at the Hicksville location. The public is invited to attend.

Estimated cost of construction is $10 million for both facilities. Construction on both facilities will begin this month and be completed late in the year.

“We invite the public to attend these events to help us officially begin construction of two facilities which will help us better serve Paulding and Defiance counties,” said ODOT District 1 Deputy Director Kirk Slusher. “These modern facilities will provide the space and technology needed to both store and maintain the modern ODOT equipment fleet.”

The Paulding garage will be a full-service facility that will provide more truck storage, an upgraded above-ground fuel system, as well as a decanting station which will be installed to meet Environmental Protection Agency guidelines for disposal of catch basin waste.

Within the plans is also an expanded mechanic’s area that will allow the mechanics the space needed to work on large equipment. A new two-truck wash bay will also be added. A salt dome, pole barn and equipment storage building will also be constructed.

The new outpost in Hicksville will feature five truck bays, a 2,000-ton salt storage facility, a truck wash bay and a decanting station. The facility will primarily serve the winter operations for both the ODOT Defiance and Paulding County maintenance crews.