TRAFFIC ODOT wants property for Route 82 fix

Highway planners hope to alleviate traffic congestion.
WARREN -- The Ohio Department of Transportation wants a judge to fix a price and order a Warren partnership to give up property for state Route 82 improvements in Howland Township.
ODOT Director Gordon Proctor and Attorney General Jim Petro filed suit in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court.
Named as defendants are Kleese Development Associates; its partners Nicholas S. Perod, Robert S. Kleese, James Kleese, Edward J. Kleese, Edward A. Kleese Jr., Joseph P. Kleese; the Ohio Department of Taxation; and the Trumbull County treasurer and auditor.
ODOT intends to take possession of property needed for improving the public highway system, the lawsuit states, but has been unable to reach an agreement with the owners.
Improvement plans
Judge W. Wyatt McKay is asked to find that ODOT is entitled to the property, with $19,350 being the fair market value. The state has deposited that sum of money with the Trumbull County Clerk of Courts, its suit says.
No one at the company's offices at 103 W. Market St. could be reached Monday afternoon.
ODOT could not immediately provide specifics about the project, but highway planners do want to alleviate traffic congestion in the Eastwood Mall area.
One plan under study calls for widening state Routes 82 and 46 and U.S. Route 422.
Eventually, ramps and a bridge could carry Howland-Wilson Road traffic over Route 82.
At issue in the lawsuit is a tiny sliver of land at the intersection of the state route and Howland Wilson Road.
The state also seeks a temporary easement for performing the road work, grading and seeding.