After a slow start and some technical bumps, the move to consolidate paving projects under the Summit County engineer is being declared a success and will be repeated and possibly expanded.“It got started a little late, so we had to hustle to get it all done,” County Engineer Alan Brubaker said in a recent interview. “But by the time you get all the information from the communities that wanted to participate and they incorporated it all into one bid document, it takes a little bit of time.”Projects included hot-mix paving, seal coat and motor paving, asphalt rejuvenation, spot paving, pavement marking and asphalt crack sealing. Concrete work and culvert replacement is being added for next year.The idea was to build bigger contracts and attract lower bids because paving companies could count on improved economies of scale. Bath, Copley, Coventry, Springfield, Sagamore Hills, Twinsburg and Northfield Center townships participated, along with limited participation from Richfield Village, Akron and New Franklin.The six contracts totalled $2.2 million.“We did get on board with them this year, and we think it worked out very well; it was very smooth,” Coventry Road Superintendent, Lael Stouffer said.Asked if he will participate next year, Stouffer said, “We probably will if funds allow us to keep up with resurfacing and if we can meet some of the timelines that they are mandating that we get our roads and information turned in to them.”Robert Wilson, Bath Township service director, said it is difficult to determine how much money might have been saved because Bath did not seek bids on the projects on a smaller, township level to provide a comparison.“It was OK,” he said. “It was brand new, so we are going to look forward to trying some of it next year. Now, whether we do all of it, I don’t know.”The county’s effort began in late winter when many communities already had started their plans for road work. This year, calls to consolidate already have begun. The 2012 bidding effort already has been outlined in a Brubaker letter to communities will be discussed at a Dec. 7 meeting.Because of the late start, Brubaker said, participation was limited, and that might have been a good thing.“It was good to do last year’s with not too many communities involved in it,” he said. “It gets us some experience with it and makes sure we know how to proceed this year.”He’s hoping more municipalities participate.One concern was that the size of the project would be too big for smaller paving companies to participate, but no contractors objected last year. Observers said the industry already has consolidated to just a few contractors.Brubaker said his department received bids from the same companies his department heard from in previous years.He said that because of time constraints all of the projects used the county’s specifications, which are virtually the same as the state’s. Sometimes municipalities use different requirements on their own projects.Wilson said Bath Township will take that into consideration when determining its participation next year. He also wants to delay some decisions until late winter or spring because winter damage to roads cannot always be predicted.“It’s not black and white, he said. “I’ll have to give it a little more thought.”Dave Scott can be reached at 330-996-3577 or davescott@thebeaconjournal.com.