Revitalization phase end by early Dec.

There is a study under way looking at extending the river walk to Budd Street.
By LAURE CIOFFI
VINDICATOR PENNSYLVANIA BUREAU
SHARON, Pa. -- The first phase of downtown revitalization should be done by early December.
For the past month workers have been building a walkway along the east side of the Shenango River from Silver Street to East State Street. They've been working on sidewalks, curbs, streetlights and other things.
"Everything has been on schedule, and we've had very little cost overruns," said Mayor Robert Lucas.
This work, which includes new sewers at the intersections, is part of a larger citywide revitalization project.
This first phase costs about 1.2 million with the money coming from the state Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program -- a program that targets specific infrastructure programs.
The city was able to use the 9.4 million in improvements made at the Penn State Shenango Campus as a local match for the downtown work.
The street work is being done by Kirila Contractors Inc. of Brookfield with Penn-Ohio Electric of Masury putting underground wiring and period light fixtures in.
S.E.T. Inc. of Lowellville is working on the river walk.
The concrete river walk is 8 feet wide and is cantilevered over the current river wall. There will be a railing and new lighting, Lucas said.
Future phase
Lucas said there is a study under way to determine whether the river walk can be extended to Budd Street in a future phase of the project. The design of that section may differ from the first phase, he said. They are still working on those plans.
The next phase of work, set to kick off next spring, will be a footbridge across the Shenango River, the mayor said.
That will be followed by work on East State Street. Lucas said the city received 805,000 in state grants for that work.
They are now working on a schedule for East State Street that won't interfere with the expected replacement of the State Street Bridge, which is owned by the state, the mayor said.
Among the improvements slated for the job is specially stamped asphalt in the intersections, he said.
cioffi@vindy.com