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A long-dormant downtown Youngstown project will start up in the summer
Sewer replacement work likely to keep part of Phelps Street closed for a year
YOUNGSTOWN
A downtown improvement project that’s been idle for about four years will resume this summer, but likely will keep a section of North Phelps Street closed for more than a year.
City officials will have a public meeting at 10 a.m. today in the Covelli Centre’s community room to discuss the details of the project. It will include the relocation of various utilities and the replacement of a 24-inch sanitary sewer line on North Phelps Street between West Federal and West Commerce streets.
The sewer line replacement project started in February 2013, but was stopped a month later. That’s because it was discovered that underground utilities, primarily AT&T lines and three duct banks containing telephone conduits, were directly in the path of the sewer line and needed to be moved in order for the project to proceed, said Charles Shasho, deputy director of public works for the city.
The problem turned out to be a large one, taking a considerable amount of time to plan with the determination that AT&T needs to make about 10,000 splices, reroute the lines and consolidate the three existing duct banks into one, Shasho said.
“Any time you do utility work downtown, not just in Youngstown, the utility conflicts are much greater as the infrastructure is older,” he said. “It’s been slow-going.”
The AT&T part of the project could take six months to a year to complete, Shasho said. After that work is finished, the city will replace the sewer line, which should take four to five months and will be done in 2018, he said.
“The city’s plan is to close the road permanently or semi-permanently during the work,” Shasho said. “That will be discussed further at the public meeting.”
City officials have discussed the possibility of closing that section of North Phelps Street to vehicular traffic once the improvement project is finished. Several options are being considered including one that would shut down that portion on evenings and/or weekends to be used as an entertainment area, though no final decision has been made.
“We’re interested in a pedestrian-friendly corridor” on that street, Shasho said.
Back in 2013, the city spent about $400,000 on design work for the North Phelps Street project.
The costs of the AT&T part and the sewer line replacement are not yet known, Shasho said.
In 2008, the city replaced the sewer line along South Phelps Street between West Federal and West Front streets. In 2013, the line on North Phelps Street between Commerce Street and Lincoln Avenue was replaced.