YOUNGSTOWN — Over the next several years, Mahoning County will put $40 million worth of effort into the Western Reserve corridor to improve traffic flow and aid economic growth.

During the annual “Good Morning, Mahoning County” session with the Youngstown Warren Regional Chamber on Friday, county engineer Pat Ginnetti said orange barrels associated with the various projects should be looked at in a positive way.

“When you see orange barrels, don’t look at it as a negative. That means growth,” he said, referring to business that is anticipated to come to the area once traffic is improved.

He didn’t shy away from the fact it will be frustrating as roads are widened and sewer lines are installed.

“It’s going to be a major inconvenience for traveling, but it’s a temporary inconvenience,” Ginnetti said.

The corridor is located at the borders of Boardman and Beaver townships and is one of the most congested traffic routes within Mahoning and Trumbull counties, Jim Kinnick, executive director of Eastgate Regional Council of Governments, said.

Western Reserve Road, from Hitchcock Road to South Avenue, will be widened to three lanes: two through-traffic and one dual-turning lane. The relief in traffic congestion will allow for economic development upon completion.

This year will see an $8.6 million project on Western Reserve Road from Hitchcock Road to east of Market Street. The project, Ginnetti said, will go to bid soon.

Coming in 2023, widening will continue on Western Reserve Road from Market Street to South Avenue at a cost of $9.4 million. Included in that project will be intersection and signal upgrades, Ginnetti said.

Also this year in the Western Reserve corridor, sewer work will begin for $20 million. Funded by federal, state and local dollars, the project will allow for new development to tie into sanitary sewer where it isn’t available currently.

The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency required the county to take the Unity Road wastewater treatment plant in New Springfield offline, instead pumping flow into the Boardman wastewater treatment plant, Ginnetti said.

The Boardman plant on East Parkside Road has been upgraded to handle the influx, he said.

Between Hitchcock Road and heading east to Five Points in the Poland and Springfield townships area will be included in the first phase, with the second phase stretching from Five Points to Unity Road.

The project will also help relieve the Struthers wastewater plant on Lowellville Road, Ginnetti said.

OTHER PLACES

Outside of the Western Reserve corridor, Kinnick shared an update on construction in Youngstown and what is to come.

Phase I of the SMART2 corridor on Fifth Avenue is continuing, with the east side of the road almost completed and crews are working on the west, Kinnick said. The project will connect various parts of the city while allowing for traffic and pedestrians to use the roadway.

In spring 2022, a shuttle will be added that will travel Fifth Avenue, with that route expanding downtown in 2023. Once weather breaks, the work to connect downtown will begin as part of a two-year project, Kinnick said.

Construction on a portion of Market Street in Boardman will take place in the fall of 2023.

The intersection at Indianola has a fifth roadway, Brookwood Road, which will be closed off, leaving a cul-de-sac on Brookwood, Kinnick said.

The $1.2 million project will allow traffic to flow quicker, he said. Currently, the light with traffic using Brookwood causes congestion at the entire intersection, but there is not enough traffic coming from Brookwood to support its current connection at the intersection, Kinnick said.

The largest vein in the county is U.S. Route 224, and to accomodate the constant flow of traffic in Boardman, the addition of turning lanes and eliminating entrances are planned. That work is slated to begin in the fall of 2024, with a cost of $12.2 million, most of which will be paid by the Ohio Department of Transportation.

Motorists utilizing Interstate 680 have time to plan for time and alternative routes, as the roadway will be “completely” redone starting in 2026.

“This is not a pavement project,” Kinnick said. “This is a $65 million project … that literally removes the entire roadway” with the installation of new pavement, he said.

The surface of I-680 “has been patched together for the last 15, 20 years,” Kinnick said.

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