Sun staff
Clermont County Engineer Patrick Manger said the capital improvements and maintenance to county roads, bridges and culverts is going well despite the fact that the funding at the engineer’s office is limited.
Manger presented his 2013 annual report of roads, bridges and culverts during commissioners’ June 25 meeting.
“This is my 10th year as county engineer preparing these reports,” Manger said.
Manger said the operation at the engineer’s office is really divided into the capital improvements side and the maintenance side.
“This past year wasn’t huge in terms of capital improvements,” Manger said about 2013. “This past year was more a planning year.”
He said 2014 will be a much bigger year for capital improvements.
The engineer’s office, along with the Ohio Department of Transportation, is involved in several Eastern Corridor projects in 2014 and beyond, including the Clough Pike widening, Eastgate Boulevard improvements, the State Route 32 and Interstate 275 interchange improvements, and more.
“This year sets up to be a big year,” Manger said about 2014.
Manger said when it comes to maintenance, the engineer’s office is continually working to maintain the infrastructure.
Manger said this includes repairing potholes and complete work orders reported by residents in the county.
He said the work order maintenance system has been extremely helpful when it comes to maintenance work.
“I take that responsibility very seriously,” Manger said about maintenance work in the county.
Manger said the road resurfacing program that is organized by the engineer’s office continues to be a success.
He said many townships and villages participated in the program in 2013, and everyone involved saved money by working together.
Manger also gave an update on the Stonelick Williams Corner Road covered bridge, which collapsed during renovations earlier this year.
“All the materials have been ordered and we hope to get back to rehabbing it in July,” Manger said. “We hope to be done by the end of the year.”
Manger said a huge part of his job at the engineer’s office is budgeting for projects and equipment.
He said the revenue sources for the engineer’s office includes the gas tax and vehicle registration fees.
“Those are assigned to the engineer’s office,” Manger said.
He said the good news is those revenue sources are always there for the office, but the bad news is that is all they get.
“These revenue streams have been flat,” Manger said.
Manger said there are 12 less employees at the office than when he started.
“That’s how we’ve been able to stay at least on pace,” Manger said.
Manger said he and his remaining staff have worked hard to budget and find other ways to bring in money to the county.
He said that includes going after grant funds for improvements and projects in the county as well as leveraging local resources.
“We do a great job, and I want to thank my staff because they do a great job with grants and resources,” Manger said.
He said that is really the only way the office has been able to continue to run efficiently.
“We continue to do a lot of things with very limited resources,” Manger said.
For more information about the engineer’s office, visit http://www.clermontengineer.org/. For more information about projects going on in the county, visit www.goclermont.org.