New Philadelphia, Ohio -  The next phase of a resurfacing project expected to begin this week in downtown New Philadelphia has been postponed until further notice.

City Service Director Ron McAbier says crews were due to begin on the “mill and fill” portion of the state Route 416 resurfacing project on Sunday evening, but due to weather conditions, the work has been postponed for at least two weeks.

“Right now, we actually are in limbo on the whole project. I talked with ODOT today, and I’m not sure where we’re at with it until we see if this weather breaks,” he says.    

McAbier says there’s still a possibility that the project could begin in November, although he is not optimistic that will happen. “I don’t have a good feeling about the project even going forward,” he says. “Right now, I just can’t see the weather cooperating where they scheduled us.”

McAbier says he should know more about the new timeline for the project within the next couple weeks, although there’s a chance the work will be postponed until next spring.

Meanwhile, work has already begun on ODOT’s portion of the project, which includes the resurfacing of Seven Mile Drive from the corporation limit at Lakeview Road to Route 800. The work is being completed during the daytime hours by Superior Paving and is expected to be completed by November 9. Traffic will be maintained with flaggers for the duration of the project. 

STACEY CARMANY, TUSCO TV