Repaved Mahoning Avenue now has permanent lines

By Elise Franco

ODOT reps said they’re doing everything possible to keep traffic flowing on Mahoning Avenue.

AUSTINTOWN — The Mahoning County Engineer’s office wants motorists to know the lines on Mahoning Avenue are there to stay.

Marilyn Kenner, chief deputy county engineer, said in recent weeks the office has talked to people wondering why the road lines faded so quickly after they were painted last fall.

She said most motorists didn’t know those first lines were meant to be temporary.

“The striping that the people were complaining about was the temporary striping,” she said. “The contractor has since gone back and put the permanent thermo striping down.”

Kenner said the new lines were put down recently and will withstand the wear and tear of vehicles and weather elements. A $2.5 million county mill-and-fill of a five-mile stretch of Mahoning Avenue was completed last November.

The pavement itself should last between eight and 10 years before another resurfacing is necessary and at least five years before major potholes form, Kenner said.

She said to ensure the pavement lasts as long as possible, the county filled in any new cracks along the road.

“The road did experience some cracking, but that’s to be expected,” Kenner said. Some crack treatment was done this spring.

Kenner said though the county is finished with its portion of the major Mahoning Avenue construction, drivers will have to grin and bear it until the Ohio Department of Transportation’s bridge redecking over state Route 11 is finished. She said the county has no control over traffic flow, and ODOT controls the traffic signals on Mahoning from Bailey Road to Route 11.

“There’s is a lot of traffic on the road,” she said. “Because the bridge is down to two lanes I think that’s the biggest problem.”

Paula Putnam, ODOT District 4 representative, said ODOT is doing everything possible to make sure Mahoning Avenue stays open during the construction.

Read the full story Monday in The Vindicator and on Vindy.com.