HUBBARD ARTERIAL HIGHWAY Mahoning, Trumbull officials table decision

Local towns have neither the staff nor expertise to sponsor the highway.
By TIM YOVICH
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
AUSTINTOWN -- Political leaders of Mahoning and Trumbull counties have decided to postpone making a decision on the future of the Hubbard Arterial Highway.
Instead, they agreed to await the outcome of a Thursday meeting that Patrick U. Ungaro, Liberty Township administrator, will have with other members of the state's Transportation Review Advisory Council, or TRAC.
Officials of the two counties met Monday at the Austintown offices of the Eastgate Regional Council of Government.
The meeting was called by Eastgate in response to the Ohio Department of Transportation District 4's announcement it was relinquishing Aug. 4 its sponsorship role of the four-lane highway, also known as the Hubbard Expressway.
The pullout by ODOT puts the project, designed to connect Interstate 680 on Youngstown's East Side with Interstate 80 in Hubbard Township, in jeopardy.
"The pressure is on now," Ungaro said of the upcoming TRAC meeting in Columbus.
Ungaro, former Youngstown mayor, said he wants to assure TRAC retains the money already appropriated to complete the environmental impact study required to determine if the highway can be constructed.
He also said he will try to persuade ODOT to change its position and maintain sponsorship of the highway.
No community that attended the meeting wants to accept that responsibility.
Nobody spoke up when John Getchey, Eastgate executive director, asked if anyone wanted to sponsor the project.
Denies project is dead
William Murphy, District 4 planning and programs administrator, said the district's decision doesn't stop the project.
Murphy raised the ire of some attending the meeting.
William DeCicco, executive director of the CASTLO Community Improvement Corp. in Struthers, termed District 4's decision "unacceptable."
DeCicco asserted the arterial provided "hope" for development on the northeast side of Youngstown and $75 million worth of construction work for area workers.
ODOT "should not drop the ball. It must be challenged," DeCicco stressed.
"It looks like this project is being singled out, and it shouldn't be," he added.
Getchey would not commit Eastgate as the sponsor.
Richard Marsico, Mahoning County engineer, and Mark Hess, city of Niles grants coordinator, who chaired the meeting, pointed out that area communities don't have the staff or expertise to become the sponsor.
Warren Harrell, president of the Northeast Homeowners Association, termed District 4's decision "political."
Harrell asserted that growth in northeastern Ohio depends on the construction of the arterial, adding there is no shortage of money when it comes to highway construction in Columbus.
Gov. Bob Taft has supported the construction of the highway, as did U.S. Sen. George Voinovich, R-Ohio, when he was governor.
yovich@vindy.com