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More downtown detours through weekend
A closed portion of West Federal Street will reopen in about a week.
YOUNGSTOWN — As if traffic congestion downtown isn’t bad enough, the southbound lanes of Market Street between West Federal and Boardman streets will be closed from 9 a.m. today until 6 p.m. Sunday.
The closure is needed to allow for the positioning of a large crane on Market Street to facilitate the replacement of mechanical equipment on the roof of the First National Tower building at the southwest corner of Market and West Federal streets, said Charles T. Shasho, the city’s deputy director of public works.
The city is making improvements on West Federal between Fifth Avenue and South Phelps Street.
As part of that project, traffic on the north side of West Federal between Fifth and Vindicator Square is closed to traffic with a detour on to Commerce Street.
That section is closed to allow Western Reserve Transit Authority buses to leave its station off West Federal Street to travel east, Shasho said. That portion of West Federal should reopen in about a week.
“It’s causing congestion,” Shasho said. “But we have projects being done at the same time in downtown that are causing a mess right now.”
The West Federal Street project is expected to be done in August.
Mahoning County is repairing the Spring Common Bridge that brings motorists from the West Side to Fifth Avenue and West Federal Street. That bridge, closed since January, will reopen in July.
Also, South Phelps between Boardman and Front streets will remain closed for about two weeks because of a major sewer line break.
In addition, the Ohio Department of Transportation is working on the Market Street bridge, which, like Spring Common, is a main gateway into the downtown. That project is expected to be done in September.
skolnick@vindy.com