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A public hearing on the $3.4 million Vestal bridge project produced no comments
YOUNGSTOWN
An Ohio Department of Transportation public hearing Thursday on the $3.4 million rehabilitation of the Vestal Road bridge over Interstate 680 drew no public comments.
However, said Brent Kovacs, public information officer for ODOT District 4, people still can weigh in on the project by mailing their comments on the project’s design and social, economic and environmental impacts on residences, businesses and the community by Feb. 28 to Edward W. Deley Jr., District 4 environmental coordinator, Ohio Department of Transportation, 2088 S. Arlington Road, Akron, OH 44306-4243.
Also, to view a summary of public comments received and responses to comments posted on the ODOT District 4 website within 60 days after Feb. 28, visit www.dot.state.oh.us/districts/d04 and click on “Public Meeting/Public Involvement on the left-side menu.
The project is scheduled to begin in the spring of 2016.
At the hearing, conducted from 5 to 7 p.m. at Stambaugh Charter Academy, 2420 Donald Ave., ODOT officials provided information on the one-year project.
Rehabilitation of the 328-foot continuous steel-beam bridge, built in 1967, includes replacing the bridge deck, beams and piers and raising the deck a maximum of 1 foot, 6 inches “to meet the current profile design requirements for vertical clearance over I-680.”
Inspectors gave the Vestal Road bridge a general appraisal rating of 5 on a scale of 1 to 9, where 9 indicates new condition, 4 indicates deficient condition, and 1 indicates near-failure. The purpose of the project is to preserve the bridge, ODOT officials said.
The ODOT project environmental-impact study, which includes impact on wetlands, rivers/streams, aquatic and terrestrial habitats, and threatened or endangered species, concluded it would have no impact.
The state department of transportation said that no residents or businesses would be relocated because of the project, nor would it permanently impact established traffic patterns.
However, on a temporary, short-term basis, response times for safety-service vehicles will increase during I-680 lane restrictions and when Vestal Road and Hazelwood Avenue are closed. Also, school- and public-bus services will be impacted during street closures, ODOT said.
One lane of traffic will be maintained on I-680 during the project, and detours will be established when Vestal is closed for up to 180 days and Hazelwood is closed a maximum of 45 days.