A daily dose of heavy truck traffic has taken such a toll on Spiegel Drive and Port Road in Groveport's warehouse district that their complete reconstruction is now on the short list of high-priority capital improvement projects that city officials are considering for Ohio Public Works Commission (OPWC) funding.

"Two projects that are of utmost concern, Spiegel Drive and Port Road, are in horrendous condition," City Administrator Marsha Hall told Groveport City Council at a Committee of the Whole meeting on June 18.

"We'll need to make a decision (as soon as possible) whether or not these projects move forward," she said.

Hall said the separate applications for each project would need to be submitted for OPWC consideration in September.

Despite the roads' poor condition, she said the city will still be required to prioritize in terms of which road is most in need of repair, should one of the applications be denied.

"We'll have to know which one is our No. 1 and which one is our No. 2," she said.

While Hall attributes the poor condition of the roads primarily to truck traffic, she said other factors also have had an effect.

"The life expectancy of these roads has been reached," she said. "We've been patching them (but) they're public streets. There is employee traffic and visitor traffic (in addition to) the heavy duty truck traffic."

Hall said she will work with the city engineer to put together the OPWC applications, which will then go first to city council for approval. From there, they would go to Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission and then to the OPWC's Integrating Committee for final consideration.

"We would know shortly after the first of the year if it's being funded," Hall said, adding that whatever is awarded in grants and loans for the projects would be received by July 1, 2013.

For now, she said, the focus will be on getting everybody on the same page with the understanding that fixing Spiegel Drive and Port Road is a project that will improve the long-term economic viability of the city.

"We have to have council's blessing to go ahead and submit these applications," she said. "There is quite a bit (involved) in putting together the applications, such as (conducting) traffic counts, accident counts and an engineer's estimate of what the cost is going to be.

"Because there are businesses out there, we need to go to these businesses and ask for their support for the project," Hall added.