2 road projects remain on state funding list

Liberty's administrator says the projects are important to the Valley.
COLUMBUS -- State transportation officials voted Wednesday to keep two major Youngstown-area road projects on the state list to be funded in the future.
The Transportation Review Advisory Council voted to keep the Mahoning/Trumbull Interstate 80 project on the list for future funding as well as the Mahoning/Trumbull proposed Hubbard Arterial extension.
A member of the council says the projects are important to the Mahoning Valley.
"It's important because of the congestion," said Patrick Ungaro, a TRAC member and the administrator of Liberty Township.
According to transportation officials, the I-80 project adds a lane east of the I-680/state Route 11 interchange to state Route 193. There will also be interchange improvements, transportation officials said.
Area officials were seeking 9.1 million from the state to fund environmental tests, and seeking 226 million in state funds to construct the improvement, officials said.
The proposed Hubbard arterial would extend the existing Hubbard Expressway from the east side of Youngstown through the Liberty and Hubbard areas with two lanes in each direction to and from I-80, Ungaro said.
Local officials are seeking 4.9 million in state funding for engineering and design and will be seeking 108 million in the future to fund construction, Ungaro said.
Ungaro said he expects design work in that project to begin in 2008.