YOUNGSTOWN $13 million OK'd for road work

YOUNGSTOWN -- The state Transportation Review Advisory Council gave preliminary approval Tuesday to provide $13 million for two major highway construction projects in the Mahoning Valley.
The council will finalize the funding list in May 2004. The local funding was part of a $3.7 billion state highway improvement program.
TRAC gave preliminary approval to provide $11 million in 2008 for the reconstruction of the Interstate 80 corridor.
Among the improvements is the addition of one lane in each direction between state Route 46 and Interstate 680, from state Route 193 to U.S. Route 62, and from the I-680/state Route 11 interchange to state Route 193, said Melissa Cook, TRAC spokeswoman. Also, the plan calls for an upgrade of the state Routes 46/11 interchange.
The overall project, to be done in phases, is estimated to cost $252 million, Cook said.
The council also gave preliminary approval to provide $2 million in 2005 for preliminary engineering to relocate U.S. Route 30 in Columbiana, Stark and Carroll counties as part of a major project to the route through Ohio, Cook said.
"We want to bypass more congested areas and make it easier for people traveling in Ohio between Pennsylvania and Indiana," she said.
The project will cost $100 million, Cook said. The eight-member council, which includes Patrick J. Ungaro, Liberty Township administrator, oversees the distribution of state transportation funds.