NORTH JACKSON State announces $15M plan to rebuild a segment of I-76

The project will take about six months.
By DAVID SKOLNICK
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
NORTH JACKSON -- As part of an ongoing plan to improve Interstate 76 in the western part of Mahoning County, the Ohio Department of Transportation announced plans to reconstruct and repair a 3.8-mile section of the highway in Jackson and Milton townships in spring 2004.
ODOT is currently replacing the bridge that carries I-76 over Lake Milton. That $15 million project is to be finished by fall 2003.
About six months after that project is done, ODOT will improve the interstate between the state Route 534 exit (Exit 54) in Milton Township, past the Bailey Road exit (Exit 57) in Jackson Township, and to the Conrail Railroad bridge just east of Bailey Road.
About the project
The project, which starts a little over a mile east of the Lake Milton bridge replacement work, is scheduled to be completed by the fall 2004.
The $14.9 million project includes the widening of Route 534 westbound exit ramp to add a left turning lame, making improvements to bridges over I-76 at Newton Falls Road and at Duck Creek Road, and repaving the road, said Jennifer Richmond, ODOT spokeswoman at the agency's Region 4 office in Ravenna.
"We're repairing the road because of projected pavement conditions," she said.
Traffic will be reduced to one lane in each direction during construction along the highway, which has two lanes both east and west in that area, Richmond said. About 34,500 vehicles travel along that section of I-76 daily, she said.
The Lake Milton bridge replacement project has caused traffic slowdowns in that area. Because the 3.8-mile improvement project east of the current work is more than a year away, Richmond said it is premature to discuss possible traffic problems along the highway during construction.
skolnick@vindy.com