Meeting to address bridge replacement

By David Skolnick | January 26, 2011 at 12:00a.m.

YOUNGSTOWN

The $2.62 million replacement of the Elm Street bridge over Crandall Run on the city’s North Side is at least 18 months away from starting, but a meeting to get input from the public on the project is Thursday.

Officials with the city and Ohio Department of Transportation as well as MS Consultants, the project’s engineer, will be available to discuss the bridge-replacement work from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday at Heart Reach Ministries, 211 Redondo Road.

The public meeting is required as part of the federal grant received for the bridge-replacement project, said Charles Shasho, deputy director of the city’s public works department.

The project is estimated to cost $2.62 million.

The Elm Street bridge over Crandall Run, a stream, is a concrete arch structure built in 1919.

The span isn’t in any danger of collapsing, but its condition is bad enough “that rehabilitation is not an option. It needs to be replaced.”

MS has done preliminary engineering, but detailed designs for the work won’t be done until 2012.

Construction on the bridge will start between the fall of 2012 and June 2013, Shasho said. The project will require the bridge to be closed for about 180 days.

There will be detours for motorists and pedestrians during the project’s construction.

Motorists will use Broadway, Fifth Avenue and Gypsy Lane during construction while pedestrians will use Tod Lane and Saranac and Kensington avenues. Access to adjacent properties will be maintained at all times during the project, Shasho said.