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Engineers plan smoother ride on Mahoning Ave.
YOUNGSTOWN
If everything goes as planned, nine miles of Mahoning Avenue in western Mahoning County will be resurfaced this summer.
“It travels all the way across the county. It’s considered one of our major roads. It has a high traffic volume, so it’s very important to keep that in good condition for the traveling public,” said Marilyn Kenner, chief deputy county engineer.
Bids will be opened at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday at the county purchasing department for the repaving of the two-mile portion between Lipkey Road and state Route 45 in Jackson Township.
That project, estimated to cost $850,000, is being paid for in full by federal stimulus money, Kenner said. The 45-day project is expected to start in mid-June. This section of the road is two lanes wide, except for a four-lane portion near the Ohio Turnpike interchange.
The county engineer’s office also plans to repave a seven-mile, two-lane stretch of Mahoning Avenue from Rosemont Road in Jackson Township to the Mahoning-Portage county line.
Last week, the county commissioners approved a $24,750 contract with Thomas Fok & Associates of Youngstown for engineering services for that project.
The engineer’s office hopes the seven miles of repaving, which is estimated to cost $1.7 million, can be paid for in full by federal stimulus money under a new federal transportation bill, Kenner said.
If that doesn’t occur, the engineer’s office is prepared to have the project funded by 80 percent federal and 20 percent local money through the Eastgate Regional Council of Governments, she said.
“We’re pretty confident that we’ll obtain the federal funding, but that’s the big if,” said Richard Marsico, county engineer, referring to the seven-mile project.
Within the next four to five weeks, the engineer’s office plans to advertise for bids for that project, which may include some Lake Milton area sidewalk curb cuts for handicapped access, Kenner said.
Both the two-mile and seven-mile sections of Mahoning Avenue were last resurfaced in 1997.
The section of Mahoning Avenue between Meridian and Lipkey roads was re-paved in the fall of 2008 at a cost of $2.5 million.