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Sections of four Youngstown streets will be repaved starting in late April
YOUNGSTOWN
Sections of four city streets — including Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, a road that is nearly undrivable — will be repaved while traffic-signal equipment at four intersections is replaced under a project that should start in late April.
City officials on Monday opened up proposals from seven companies for the work. The city had estimated the cost for the work at $1,043,729.
Five of the seven proposals were less than the estimate.
The apparent low proposal of $954,860 came from Shelly & Sands Inc. of Akron. The next apparent lowest proposal of $959,903 was from Karvo Paving of Stow. City officials need to check the math of the proposals before a contract can be offered, said Charles Shasho, deputy director of public works.
But that shouldn’t take long, and work should begin in late April and take 75 days to complete, he said.
Roads to be paved include MLK Jr. Boulevard between Rayen and Belmont avenues.
The eastbound lane is so filled with potholes that some motorists drive in the westbound lane dodging holes and oncoming vehicles. The westbound lane isn’t much better.
Mayor John A. McNally has called that section of road “a disaster.”
The four sections were selected in September 2013, and since then “some of the streets have gotten worse,” Shasho said.
In addition to that section of MLK, paving also will be done on Kirk Road between Meridian and Bars Den roads, North Hazelwood Avenue between Mahoning and Donald avenues, and Gypsy Lane between Logan and Fifth avenues.
“We picked the streets based on traffic volume and road conditions as well as the number of complaints we have,” Shasho said.
The state will provide $577,157 toward the project.
Also, the project will upgrade traffic signal lights, poles and other equipment at four intersections.
They are: Market Street and Woodland Avenue, Market Street and Indianola Avenue, Canfield Road and Arden Boulevard, and Schenley Avenue and McCollum Road.
The city also plans to spend about $1.3 million on repaving neighborhood roads this summer. Proposals for that work are due May 11.