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Division Street bridge replacement easements approved
STRUTHERS
The Mahoning County commissioners have taken an initial step toward next year’s replacement of the Division Street bridge over the Mahoning River in Youngstown.
On Wednesday, they passed a resolution of necessity to acquire permanent easements for a water-supply line and a storm sewer and temporary easements for parking of construction equipment on private land, with landowners being paid for that temporary use.
County Bridge Engineer Randy Partika said he hopes the demolition and construction contract for the $2.4 million project can be advertised next month and awarded in December.
The contractor first must bore under the Mahoning River for the relocation of an 18-inch water supply line serving the Vallourec Star pipe-making complex, which now crosses the bridge.
Once that is accomplished, the bridge will be closed on or after Feb. 1 for the demolition and replacement project, which Partika hopes will take about nine months.
The other permanent easement is for a new storm sewer alongside the bridge that will discharge into the river.
With a structurally-deficient superstructure, the 22-foot-wide, 1939-vintage steel-truss bridge is “functionally obsolete” because it’s too narrow for the truck traffic in that area, Partika explained in an interview.
The new bridge will feature a concrete-slab deck supported by steel beams.
Concerning another bridge project, Partika said the painting and rehabilitation work on the Market Street bridge in Youngstown switched from the east to the west side of the bridge Wednesday, with one lane of traffic in each direction now flowing over the east side of the bridge.
The entire job, which began July 28, is scheduled for completion six weeks from now, he said.
The commissioners’ next meeting will be at 4:30 p.m. Monday in the Boardman Township Administration Building, 8299 Market St.