Improving Emergency, Recreational Access

Travel to The Wilds and emergency vehicle access to Bethesda Hospital could get smoother by the end of paving season this year.

The Muskingum County Transportation Improvement District Board met Monday to discuss two state TID grant applications. The first, is what Matt Abbott, executive director of the Zanesville-Muskingum County Port Authority, said could be a life or death matter. It’s a project to improve emergency vehicle access at Bethesda Hospital. That grant would bring $250,000 to the county.

“It’s going to assist in alleviating some congestion off of Maple Avenue to provide access for emergency vehicles to their emergency room,” Abbott said. “So that project definitely has some importance and we are pretty confident that we’ll get some grant money to support that project.”

Near The Wilds, the county applied for a $64,970.50 grant to chip and seal Zion Ridge Road and International Drive. Both are primary access roads for people traveling to The Wilds. Abbott stressed the benefits of having this money come into Muskingum County.

“We’re very hopeful,” he said. “Since 2006 the Muskingum County Transportation Improvement District has sealed close to $2.5 million in grant monies for the betterment of roads in Muskingum County, construction of new roads, most recently the turn lane at 146 and Northpointe, so it’s very impactful”

The applications have been submitted to the state TID. If the state awards money to Muskingum County, it will be coming this way the second week of July.

Abbott said, if awarded money, the projects will be completed this year. The grants are completely independent of each other, so the county could receive one and not the other. Either way, Abbott was very hopeful that the money will be coming this way as TID accepted 17 of the 42 applications it received last year.