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Struthers receives grant for road project
STRUTHERS
The city received $149,185 from the Ohio Public Works Commission to fund a road project next summer.
Mayor Terry Stocker said the city made plans to pave six streets — about two miles of road — for approximately $382,526. Money for the resurfacing came from both a 3-mill road levy passed last May and the OPWC grant.
Stocker said he thinks the city received the grant money because it had a strong research analysis that was completed last spring. According to the research, which was completed by MS Consultants of Youngstown, 44 of 142 Struthers streets analyzed will need to be repaved in the next year. The analysis also reported that an additional 34 streets will need to be repaved by the end of 2017.
“The conditions in Struthers are bad because a lot of roads need resurfaced,” said Gary DiOrio, an engineer with MS Consultants, who helped to complete the survey last spring. “It will likely take several years to get Struthers streets caught up.”
Stocker also said phase two of the city’s downtown lighting project will be completed by next week. He said Struthers has been gradually adding light poles to its downtown area for the past year to both make the city more safe and attractive.
“We received poles for the project Monday — which came as a surprise to us — and the electric will be turned on for the lights next week,” he said.
He added that the city will work on phase three of the project next year, which will expand the city’s downtown lighting to the state Route 616 bridge and replace downtown sidewalks.
Stocker announced there will be a special public meeting at 5:15 p.m. Dec. 10 for a discussion on the city’s involvement in the Safe Routes to School program. The program partners with and funds various communities around the U.S. to improve walking and biking routes for kids attending a community’s schools.
“We want parents to come and learn about the program,” Stocker said. “It’s mainly for parents who have kids who walk to school.”
He concluded that there is “no guarantee” Struthers will be funded in Safe Routes to School, but he said he hopes it can be backed with a good research report.