Paving projects set to go for summer

The paving will be done with revenue from a 0.5-percent county sales tax.
By BOB JACKSON
VINDICATOR COURTHOUSE REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- The Mahoning County Engineer's Office has a full slate of projects lined up for this summer's paving season.
Workers will pave some 11 miles of county roads, treat parts of other roads with nonskid pavement and widen a small portion of a busy road in Boardman Township.
The paving work will be funded with revenue set aside from a 0.5-percent county sales tax, said Engineer Richard Marsico.
It will include portions of Kirk Road in Austintown Township; Shields and Truesdale roads and Glenwood Avenue in Boardman Township; Johnson and State Line roads in Coitsville Township; Calla and Lisbon roads in Green Township; County Line, Kirk and Reuther roads in Jackson Township; and Hubbard Road in Poland Township.
When the tax was passed in 1999, county commissioners promised to set aside 5 percent of its revenue each year for road work. That's in addition to other paving done each year with state Issue 2 money.
"We really appreciate the money we get from the sales tax," said Marilyn Kenner, chief deputy engineer. "It helps tremendously."
Nonskid pavement: The office will also pave parts of certain roads with a special nonskid pavement, Marsico said. The targeted roads are ones that have been the site of frequent automobile crashes caused by slick pavement.
Kenner said a polymer-modified liquid asphalt will be spread on the road surface with aggregate gravel spread over it. The gravel is harder than limestone that's used in standard pavement.
She said the limestone surfaces become polished from traffic use, creating a slippery surface. When the road surface is wet, it becomes dangerously slick. The nonskid pavement will eliminate that problem.
Areas targeted for the nonskid treatment include Leffingwell Road at Tippecanoe Road, and Tippecanoe at Western Reserve Road, Canfield Township; Columbiana Road at state Route 170, Springfield Township; the intersection of Hopkins and Truesdale roads, Boardman Township; Silica Road at Ohltown Road, Austintown Township; and S-curve sections of Walker Mill Road in Boardman and New Road, Austintown Township.
Boulevard widening: The final project will be widening Southern Boulevard in Boardman from U.S. Route 224 north to Ferncliffe Avenue.
The Youngstown & amp; Southern Railway runs parallel to the road and crosses the entrances to several businesses on the east side of the road, Kenner said. If a train is moving through the area, southbound vehicles waiting to turn into those businesses can't move until it clears, often resulting in long traffic backups.
The turning lane will provide room for those vehicles to wait while not holding up through-traffic.
bjackson@vindy.com