ODOT to spend $180M in Valley
Parts of U.S. Route 224
and state Route 7 will be resurfaced this year.
By DENISE DICK
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN — The Ohio Department of Transportation plans $145 million in construction projects for Mahoning County this year and about $37 million in Trumbull County.
That includes eight active Mahoning County projects and nine more projects that are expected to begin this year. In Trumbull County, the total includes five active projects with nine upcoming.
Eric Czetli, deputy director of ODOT District 4, the six-county district that includes both counties, was the featured speaker Monday at Eastgate Regional Council of Governments’ annual general policy board meeting.
The deputy director said $927 million in projects is planned for the district this year.
Mahoning County’s project total is one of the highest in the district. The largest is the ongoing Interstate 80 widening over Meander Reservoir.
The $101 million project started in 2006 with an expected completion in fall 2009.
The project includes replacement of the twin bridges over Meander with wider spans and replacement of the bridges at North Turner, Ohltown and North Lipkey roads. A spill containment system is also included in the project. It will allow any spilled chemicals to drain into a ditch, giving emergency crews a 30-minute window to contain it before it filters into the reservoir.
“Fall marked the halfway point,” Czetli said.
Work on the eastbound bridge finished in November, and crews moved to work on the westbound span.
Other Mahoning County projects include resurfacing of state Route 7 and U.S. Route 224 in the city and Boardman.
Work began on U.S. 224 last year with resurfacing from West Golf Drive to West Boulevard. It will continue this year from West to the railroad tracks located east of Southern Park Mall.
Resurfacing of Route 7 will begin this year from state Route 164 to Midlothian Boulevard.
This year will also see completion of the widening project on Route 46 in Austintown. The busy roadway was widened last year between Barkley Avenue and Norquest Boulevard and it will be finished in 2008 with striping and landscaping, the deputy director said.
In Trumbull, state Route 87 will be widened between Routes 534 and 45 in Mesopotamia and Bloomfield Township.
“It will add shoulder width for horse-drawn vehicles,” Czetli said.
Route 82 between routes 193 and 62 also will be resurfaced this year as well state Route 11 between King Graves Road and Bradley Brownlee Road.