YOUNGSTOWN — A $2.45 million project to replace waterlines, several of which contain lead, on and near Mahoning Avenue, one of the busiest corridors on the city’s West Side, will start in the spring.

The estimate for the work was close to $4 million, but of the six companies that submitted proposals for the project, three were under $3 million.

The board of control recently approved a contract with Marucci & Gaffney Excavating Co. of Youngstown, which had the lowest proposal at $2,448,811.

“It’s a lot less money than what we estimated,” Harry L. Johnson III, city water commissioner, said. “We got a great price. The work will be a great help as it will stop the multiple breaks in that area and get rid of several lead lines.”

The work will start in the spring and take about four to six months to complete, Johnson said.

The city received a low-interest loan from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency with up to 50% of it forgiven, Johnson said.

The water main to be replaced is one of two 8-inch lines that run parallel along Mahoning Avenue. Water service on the south side of the street is connected to the line and will be replaced with a 12-inch line.

The line has a history of breaks, Johnson said.

About 300 service lines to homes on the streets on the south side of the road will be replaced. Based on the age of the homes and waterlines, about 200 to 250 of them contain lead, Johnson said.

“We plan to get rid of the lead lines in that area,” he said.

The streets getting new lines under this proposal are South Maryland, South Portland, South Lakeview, South Evanston, Milton, Halls Heights, Eleanor, South Whitney, Mayfield, McKinley and Olson avenues and Hampton Court.

OTHER PROJECTS

Meanwhile, work has begun on a Mahoning Avenue project to have Perram Electric Inc. of Wadsworth install new traffic lights at 10 intersections between Meridian Road and Oak Hill Avenue, said Charles Shasho, the city’s deputy director of public works. The cost is $1,739,165.

Of that expense, 80% is coming from a federal grant administered by the state with the city paying the rest.

Perram is working now on pouring foundations and installing underground conduits and will continue that work through the winter, Shasho said.

The installation of the new traffic signals will start in the spring, he said.

The plan is to have the project finished by June, but that depends on when various materials — including controllers, signal heads and poles — are available, Shasho said. Also, depending on the arrival of the materials, work might stop before it moves to its next phase in the spring, he said.

An estimated $3.7 million road resurfacing project on Mahoning Avenue from Meridian Road to the Interstate 680 interchange, about two miles long, is expected to start in July, Shasho said.

The city will seek proposals for the work in April or May, he said.

The work should take 60 to 75 days to complete, Shasho said.

That project also includes drainage improvements, new curbs, sidewalks and signs.

The city has an agreement with the state on a $2,634,629 federal grant and a $658,620 agreement with the state for capital improvement funding for this project.

The city is spending $350,000 from its American Rescue Plan allocation for sidewalks and reducing pedestrian hazards on that section of Mahoning Avenue.