Ruptured line forces Route 224 shutdown

Ruptured line forces Route 224 shutdown

BOARDMAN — A busy commercial section of U.S. Route 224 reopened Friday evening after being shut down for nearly five hours due to a ruptured natural-gas line.

Emergency crews closed about 1,000 feet of the road, west of South Avenue, Friday afternoon after a road construction crew punctured a gas line.

Paula Putnam, a spokeswoman for Ohio Department of Transportation District 4, said the mishap occurred around 3 p.m. There was no explosion or fire, and no injuries were reported. The work is to widen Route 224, adding turn lanes.

Putnam said traffic was being detoured to Southern Boulevard while 224 was closed.

Police Chief Patrick Berarducci said that the gas company arrived and tried to repair the puncture, but was initially unable. The company was trying to locate the gas shut-off valve, he said.

“They’re monitoring the gas levels every 15 minutes and there’s been no problem,” Berarducci said.

The gas was shut off before the road reopened around 7:50 p.m.

The $5.8 million project to widen Route 224 with the addition of right-turn lanes from Boardman Park Drive to just west of South is expected to be complete in November 2010. It includes improvements to 15 traffic signals from Parkside Drive to Tiffany Boulevard.

See photo, B3.

Eastgate council starts round six for Clean Ohio

YOUNGSTOWN — Eastgate Regional Council of Governments is announcing the start of round six of the Clean Ohio Conservation Fund for Mahoning and Trumbull counties.

The fund has protected more than 2,000 acres of open space in the two counties during the past five rounds.

The conservation fund is focused on protecting land in its natural state. Local governments have used the fund to create or expand passive-use parks within their jurisdictions.

Those eligible to apply for funds are local governments, parks and joint recreation districts, conservancy districts, soil and water conservation districts and qualifying nonprofit organizations. A 25 percent local share is required for all projects and can be in the form of local funds, private contributions or in-kind services such as labor, materials and/or equipment.

The pre-applications are due July 31, and the final applications are due Oct. 30.

Call Rachel McCartney at (330) 779-3800 for more information.

Weathersfield trustees to discuss tax facts

MINERAL RIDGE — Weathersfield Township trustees will sponsor a presentation by Trumbull County Engineer David DeChristofaro on the Permissive Auto License Tax to appear on the November ballot at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the township administration building.

Facts about the tax will be discussed. Residents from Mineral Ridge, Weathersfield Township and surrounding communities are invited to attend.

Contact Trustee Chairman James Stoddard at the township offices for additional information at (330) 652-6326.

Plein Air event canceled

HARTFORD — The Plein Air painting session scheduled for today at Zipay Farm has been canceled.

Those who had signed up will be notified when an alternate date has been chosen.

For more information, call Trumbull Art Guild at (330) 395-4876.

Sobriety checkpoint in Mahoning County

The Mahoning County OVI Task Force will step up impaired-driving enforcement next weekend, including a zero tolerance for OVI (Operating a Vehicle Impaired) offenders.

A sobriety checkpoint will be conducted in Mahoning County from 6 to 10 p.m. Friday, and a zero-tolerance blitz will be conducted from 4 to 8 p.m. next Saturday.

The mission of the task force is to keep roads safe by reducing alcohol- and drug-related crashes through public awareness and enforcement. The task force encourages responsible drinking and the use of sober designated drivers.

Funding for the extra patrols is available from a federal and state grant through Goshen Police District.