City plans to pave sections of roads, replace some sidewalks
By EMMALEE C. TORISK
STRUTHERS
Short sections of eight roads within the city will be resurfaced by the end of October, thanks to an Ohio Public Works Commission grant, said Mayor Terry Stocker.
The total length of the repaving will be approximately 4,500 feet, or just under one mile, and will cost $143,000. The city’s share is about $40,000, with the rest funded by the commission.
“We’re only able to do limited sections of our roads,” Stocker told city council last week. “But the citizens of the city of Struthers like to have good, safe road surfaces to drive on and be proud of.”
Stocker said he’s in the midst of preparing a pavement analysis, divided by wards, that he intends to present to city council by month’s end.
He added that, for the most part, the city has lacked funding to make major repairs and has relied on temporary solutions to the problem, such as filling up holes over the city’s more than 70 miles of roads with hot asphalt. Subsequently, some roads within Struthers aren’t in the best condition and are just getting worse.
“There’s only so much we can do on a road until it needs to be resurfaced,” said Stocker, who added that he favors a levy that would be specific to roadway resurfacing. If approved by council, such a levy could be on the ballot as soon as the May primary election.
Portions of the streets to be repaved in the next few weeks are Eighth Street, from Edison Street to Brandon Avenue; Wilson Street, from Argonne Street to Euclid Avenue; Ninth Street, from Elm Street to Maplewood Avenue; Garfield Street, from Renee Drive to Omar Street; Spring Street, from Fifth Street to Dogwood Lane; Spring, from Argonne to Euclid; Como Street, from Garfield to the dead end; and Elm, from Garfield to Fourth Street.
Stocker also announced the city’s plans to replace the sidewalk on Poland Avenue and Sexton Street, which also will be finished by the end of October.
For this project, he said, the city will rely on $34,000 worth of Community Development Block Grant funding, which must be used in targeted areas. The sidewalks selected for repairs, Stocker added, are high-traffic areas — used often by citizens going back and forth to the public library, or to the high school — that could be safer.
In addition, 15 pole lights soon will be installed along Bob Cene Way, which will “help illuminate the road surface” and “make the area a lot safer for people traveling there at night,” Stocker said.
The city of Campbell initiated the project, he said, adding that the bid opening is scheduled for Oct. 4. The project likely will be complete by the end of this year.
Struthers City Council will meet next at 7 p.m. Sept. 25 at city hall.