METRO DIGEST || 7-day closing of Route 644 starts Monday

Route 644 closing

KENSINGTON

State Route 644, east of Kensington in Columbiana County, will be closed to traffic Monday for a bridge-replacement project.

Beginning at the intersection of state Routes 644 and 9 and U.S. Route 30 in Kensington, traffic will be detoured east on Route 30 to state Route 164 south to state Route 518 west back to state Route 644, and reverse.

Route 644 will be closed for seven days. Traffic may be restricted with flaggers during the remaining construction, however, while the Ohio Department of Transportation’s contractor, Marucci and Gaffney Excavating Co. of Youngstown, replaces a concrete-slab bridge with a box culvert. The project’s total cost is $197,451, and the completion date in Oct. 1.

Fire at apartment

YOUNGSTOWN

A fire at a Tyrell Avenue apartment about 11:10 p.m. Tuesday caused $2,000 in damage.

Crews called to the West Side apartment spotted smoke coming from the dwelling and managed to confine the fire to the stove area in the kitchen. A man in the apartment, located on the 2600 block, said he was trying to light a cigarette near the stove when a pan there caught on fire, reports said. The cause is listed as unintentional. No one was injured.

Donation to school

AUSTINTOWN

St. Joseph and Immaculate Heart of Mary School, 4470 Norquest Blvd., received a donation Wednesday from the Home Builders & Remodelers Association of the Mahoning Valley, which spent the day building a handicap- accessibility ramp for the school.

Albert Alexander, chairman of the HBA Remodelers Council, said the association seeks to complete at least one community project per year. The HBA provided the labor, Carter Lumber donated the materials, and ARA Home Remodeling of Hubbard provided the equipment.