The end is near on rocky road of construction and renovation

Federal Street Construction

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The end is near on rocky road of construction and renovation

Work to replace windows in the Stambaugh Building has been delayed.

ELISE FRANCO

VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER

1111Charles Shasho, deputy director of the city’s public works department, said the $474,684 West Federal project, which began in mid-April, is ahead of schedule.

“Completion date is some time in mid-August, but it may be finished early,” he said. “We’ll have to see how things play out.”

The project includes the removal of 25 percent of the medians and nine of the 22 trees in those medians between Fifth Avenue and Phelps Street.

That section of West Federal will be paved for the first time in about 20 years, and angled parking spots will be added.

Mahoning County bridge engineer Randy Partika said the bridge is also on schedule and on track for its original completion date of Nov. 15.

“We poured half of the bridge deck in May, and we’re pouring the second half in mid-July,” he said. “The painters are coming in August, and it’ll take about two months to paint.”

Partika said the bridge will remain closed until the painting process is finished. He said keeping cars off the bridge until it is finished will allow for construction crews to work faster and possibly get it to open to traffic by October.

Construction on Spring Common Bridge began last July. Until January, when the bridge was closed completely, the construction had been confined to the eastbound lanes, with one lane of traffic maintained in each direction over the westbound lanes.

The $5.2 million project was awarded to Great Lakes Construction Co. of Hinckley.

Another topic of concern for Youngstown officials is the Stambaugh Building, co-owned by Lou Frangos.

Brenda Williams, plans examiner at the city’s public works department, said a permit was obtained Tuesday and work to replace windows in the historical building was scheduled to begin Thursday.

Bill Sperlazza, Frangos’ development project manager, had said the contractors were expected to begin work Thursday, “but for some reason they haven’t,” she said.

Frangos said he hired a contractor and expected the work to begin Thursday. If it didn’t, it should begin soon, he said.

The $61,700 project was contracted to All American Window and Door of Cleveland after Frangos, along with several top officials of his companies, met with Mayor Jay Williams last Friday. They discussed plans for the building and a time frame for completing the work.

Issues with the Stambaugh Building arose in May after a window fell out of a top floor and shattered on the street in front of Brenda Williams.

It was then discovered that 370 of the 531 windows on the upper 12 floors of the 13-story building had been removed without a permit, she said.

Hiring a contractor and obtaining a permit, Mayor Williams said, is an indication that the work is about to begin. He said a short delay period is not unusual.

Once work begins, the new window installation should take four to eight weeks to complete.

efranco@vindy.com