MINERAL RIDGE — The Ohio Department of Transportation awarded a $460,000 grant to make pedestrian improvements to a section of state Route 46 near Mineral Ridge High School.

The project between Stewart and Seaborn streets will be done in 2027, according to Matt Bruning, ODOT spokesman.

The work includes sidewalks and enhanced pedestrian crossings. Bruning didn’t have further specifics Friday on the project.

With the high school located on Seaborn Street, a number of students cross state Route 46 to get to the businesses across the street or to walk home.

Bruning said, “We’ve seen a lot of pedestrian-related fatalities. It’s down, but it’s still too high. We want to lower that number and this is an example of that.”

He added, “All of the enhancements we do mean nothing if drivers don’t pay attention. People need to put their phones down and yield to pedestrians at crosswalks.”

The Mineral Ridge project is one of 27 traffic safety projects, costing $40.9 million in total, announced Friday by ODOT.

It was the project receiving the least amount of money among the 27.

The safety projects, which include upgrading or installing pedestrian hybrid beacons at mid-block crosswalks, raised enhanced crosswalks, new sidewalks, multi-use paths, curb bumps, buffered bike lanes and reducing the number of vehicular lanes, are designed to prevent pedestrian fatalities.

Funding for the projects comes from ODOT’s Highway Safety Improvement Program.

The projects were submitted by regional transportation agencies across Ohio and reviewed and scored by a committee that considers factors such as crash severity risk, design and construction feasibility and project costs.

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