ODOT Road projects moving ahead
Ohio will spend about $37 million on road projects in Mahoning and Trumbull counties this year.
By DENISE DICK
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
RAVENNA -- The King Graves Road interchange with state Route 11 and the replacement of the bridges over Lake Milton are proceeding on schedule.
The $4,173,680 King Graves Road project in Trumbull County started in December and is to build an interchange including ramps and bridges over state Route 11 and Spring Run.
Ohio Department of Transportation District 4 officials updated this year's construction projects Tuesday. District 4 includes Mahoning, Trumbull, Portage, Ashtabula, Stark and Summit counties.
King Graves project: Phil Crish, construction area engineer for Trumbull County, said the tentative completion date for the King Graves Road project is June 30, 2002, and it's progressing on schedule.
"I think the project is something that everyone has been looking forward to for the airport, for development," Crish said.
The project, which has been discussed for about 20 years, will enable motorists to get to the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport directly from state Route 11 rather than getting off at exits on state Routes 82 or 305.
This year's total projected construction cost for Trumbull County is $11,194,140.
In Mahoning: The largest project this year in Mahoning County is rehabilitation of the twin Interstate 76 bridges over Lake Milton. Construction on the estimated $20 million project is expected to start in August.
Les Styers, district field construction engineer, said the project is expected to take about 21/2 years. The project will widen the bridges to include shoulders.
"We anticipate only minimum backups," Styers said.
Motorists will be warned of changes in traffic patterns.
"The traffic counts are less on that end of the county," he said.
Mahoning County's projected construction cost for this year is about $26 million, which Styers said is down slightly from other years. But he said big-ticket projects such as the Route 711 connector, on which construction is expected to begin in the next few years, will even out the totals.
I-77 widening: ODOT officials also reviewed the plans for reconstruction of Interstate 77 between Akron and Canton. The project is to widen a 13-mile section of the interstate from two lanes to three in each direction.
Some ramps and interchanges also will be replaced. The widening will run from just north of the U.S. Route 30-Interstate 77 interchange in Canton to just south of the state Route 241 interchange in Green.