Bike bridge over Mahoning is near completion

The bridge is expected to be completed by month's end but could be done sooner.
By DENISE DICK
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
AUSTINTOWN -- Outdoor enthusiasts will soon have safe passage along the Mill Creek MetroParks Bikeway across one of the busiest roads in the township.
Work started in May on the roughly $1.5 million project to build a bridge over Mahoning Avenue for bikers, runners, in-line skaters and walkers who use the path.
A.P. O'Horo of Youngstown is the project contractor.
"It's on schedule to be completed by the end of November, but there's a possibility that it could be done sooner because the weather has been so nice," said Carol Potter, MetroParks spokeswoman.
The crossing remains closed during construction.
The park district received a $1.8 million federal highway grant through the Congestion Mitigation Air Quality Program through Eastgate Council of Regional Governments for the work.
The bikeway, which opened about five years ago, winds through 12 miles of Mahoning County.
Needed the grant money
Park officials had wanted to devise a solution to get bikeway users across busy Mahoning Avenue, but until they received the grant, all of the options were too costly.
The crossing was marked with signs and a flashing light.
No accidents occurred at the intersection, but park officers have said that the district heard from path users who say they turn around there or don't allow their children to cross it.
"It really is a major safety improvement," Potter said of the bridge.
The bike trail, which runs along abandoned railroad line, was funded by the Federal Highway Administration, distributed by the Ohio Department of Transportation and administered by Eastgate.
The Mahoning County section is expected to become a link in the bike path system planned to run between East Liverpool and Lake Erie in Ashtabula County.