43
North Phelps Street business owners say downtown Youngstown road improvement worth the hassle
YOUNGSTOWN
Business owners on North Phelps Street say a lengthy improvement project there will cause headaches, but the final result will be worth the hassle.
“Construction is always an inconvenience to everyone, but we have to take that in stride and do the best we can,” said Dominic Gatta III, whose company owns the Federal Building at 18 N. Phelps St.
City officials had a public meeting Friday at the Covelli Centre’s community room to discuss the details of the project that was initially to be done in 2013. The revised schedule has the project finished by as late as the end of 2018.
The city is replacing a 24-inch sanitary sewer line on North Phelps Street between West Federal and West Commerce streets.
The line is one of the oldest in Youngstown, said Charles Shasho, deputy director of public works for the city.
The project was to occur four years ago, but came to a stop only after a month of work when 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.
“There was no way to excavate the sewer when we found” the lines and duct banks, Shasho said.
At Friday’s meeting, Shasho gave a rough timeline for the work. The three duct banks would be consolidated into one starting in April with AT&T in July or August starting work on rerouting its lines and making about 20,000 splices. That work will take about six to 12 months, he said.
Then the city will take about three to five months to replace the sewer lines as well as gas and water lines on that section of North Phelps Street, Shasho said. The work, which won’t start until sometime in 2018, also includes new sidewalks, street lights and streetscape improvements, he said.
The entire project could take up to 21 months to complete.
“This type of work downtown will be disruptive, but we’ll have a great project when we’re done,” Shasho said. “It’s kind of inconvenient, but it will be worth it.”
“It’s a necessary upgrade,” said Gatta, whose Federal Building has 14 downtown apartments, a restaurant and some small businesses. “In the end, it will resolve issues with sanitary sewers and beautify the street.”
Atty. Ronald Yarwood, who shares space at 42 N. Phelps St. with four other attorneys and a title service, said of the project. “It’s inconvenient, but you have to update things. It’s good for Youngstown to have these issues because this shows that things are improving. The long-term benefits will be good.”
Yarwood added: “When you do something to the outside of your house it looks terrible at first. But when it’s done it looks good.”
Yarwood and Gatta were the only business owners on North Phelps Street to attend Friday’s public meeting on the road project.
The road will be closed during the ductwork and sewer-replacement phases, but should remain open to vehicular traffic when AT&T is splicing and rerouting lines, Shasho said.
Pedestrian traffic on the west side of the street will remain open at all times, he said. There will be times when the sidewalk on the east side will be closed, he said.
The city is considering closing that North Phelps Street section to vehicular traffic when the project is completed and turning it into a pedestrian entertainment area, Shasho said. Options include shutting it down on evenings and/or weekends, but no decision has been made, he said.