Work on Route 224 to begin Monday

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

Work on U.S. Route 224 near Lowellville and Stymie roads and the Pennsylvania state border finally is slated to begin Monday, according to the Ohio Department of Transportation District 4.

ODOT announced Friday that lane restrictions on that portion of Route 224 will begin Monday and continue for several weeks.

That area of Route 224 will be closed entirely from Sept. 16 to 19. The detour will be state Route 616 to Route 224 to Pa. Route 551.

The $500,000 project originally was supposed to begin in late July and consists of ripping up the section of Route 224 between those two roads, digging 2 feet under the road to remove and replace contaminated soil, and installing new pavement on top, according to Vindicator files.

In 1983, a tanker truck tipped on that section of Route 224 and dumped about 1,000 gallons of a chemical onto the road and into nearby yards. The chemical, a mixture of sulfur, carbon and hydrogen, was an additive used in gear oil and manufactured by Lubrizol.

ODOT also announced construction alerts for Interstate 680.

Interstate 680 in both directions over Dewey Avenue will be reduced to one lane from 6 p.m. Friday until 6 a.m. Sept. 17 for bridge overlays.

I-680 northbound and southbound over Midlothian Boulevard will continue to have occasional lane restrictions and both traffic changes are part of a $4.5 million project to provide concrete overlays to six bridges on I-680 between U.S. 224 and South Avenue. The entire project is expected to be complete by November.