Road construction signs indicate light work on Glenwood Avenue on Friday also warn of a $9 million county project expected to begin in spring 2026. The project will reduce through lanes from two in each direction to one with a center left turning lane, bike lanes along the shoulders and a roundabout at Wildwood Drive.

By DAN POMPILI

Staff writer

BOARDMAN — Navigating Mahoning County’s busiest township may soon become a lot more difficult.

Last year, the Ohio Department of Transportation announced a $20.3 million project to give U.S. Route 224 a major overhaul. That project is slated to begin in spring 2026 and run at least through fall 2027.

Now, the Mahoning County Engineer’s Office has announced a major project along another of Boardman’s main arteries during that same time.

Earlier this month, Mahoning County Engineer Patrick Ginnetti’s office sent a letter to property owners along Glenwood Avenue, notifying them of plans to restripe the road from Midlothian Boulevard to Western Reserve Road and install a roundabout at Wildwood Drive.

The letter said the office is requesting public input, but also stated that right-of-way acquisitions are set to begin this fall.

Deputy Engineer Bob Durbin said the total project will cost $9 million. It will be funded by a federal grant through ODOT for $6.8 million, a $1 million Ohio Public Works Commission grant, and $1.16 million from local funding. Durbin said the county also will apply for an ODOT Transportation Improvement District grant for $500,000 to offset some of the local cost.

The overall plan, including the roundabout, will reduce traffic lanes from four through lanes — two in each direction — to two through lanes with a center left-turn lane, and bike lanes along each side of the road.

The $20.3 million ODOT plan for U.S. 224 will add an eastbound and westbound lane, remove some red lights, add a central median strip along with turning lanes and U-turns, and implement right-in, right-out only turns along the stretch from Market Street to Tiffany Boulevard.

Last week, Boardman officials also announced a $3 million portion of a $35.4 million grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Flood Mitigation Assistance Program, which will contribute to the township’s efforts to reduce flooding in the neighborhoods around Boardman Plaza. The township’s overall flood mitigation plan is valued at about $47 million.

Township Administrator Jason Loree said he hopes the township might be able to work with

the county to possibly push back the Glenwood project, because much of the work for the flood reduction will happen along that road, and he does not want to see Glenwood torn up twice.

But Loree said Boardman is at the mercy of the state and county.

“I’d like us to be able to do it together,” he said. “But with those state and county projects, our involvement is going to be severely limited, due to the fact that we don’t have any jurisdiction on those roads.”

Loree said he shares residents’ concerns about traffic flow through the township.

“I am concerned that traffic may be a problem, and if there’s any way we can alleviate that, we will do our best to help,” he said. “The trustees are going to see if we can schedule a meeting, just to provide residents with information and answer any questions we can. But because it’s not our road, we don’t have a lot of involvement outside of maybe talking with the county engineer.

Ginnetti said he was not available to speak with The Vindicator for this article.

SCOPE OF THE WORK

The Glenwood proposal presentation states the project is the result of several studies, beginning with an Eastgate Council of Governments 2017 Road Diet Information Guide that identified Glenwood as a good candidate for lane reduction.

Two years later, a 2019 Connecting Boardman Active Transportation Plan recommended the road for lane reduction and bike lanes.

In 2022, a Mahoning County Glenwood Avenue safety study was completed, and the county won the funding received from ODOT’s Highway Safety Improvement Plan for the Wildwood roundabout.

The video says the safety study found a “high number” of crashes at intersections, mostly rear-end and angle crashes.

The study found 52 property-damage crashes per year along the corridor in 2017 and 2018, and 50 in 2019, although crashes with injury decreased during that period from 27 in 17 to 17 in 2018 and 16 in 2019.

It states about 37% of the rear-end crashes happened at the Glenwood and 224 intersection and many of these resulted from inattentive drivers.

It states angle crashes make up 30% of the crashes on Glenwood, and largely occurred because of drivers running red lights at intersections, and at intersections without lights because drivers misjudged gaps in traffic while entering or crossing the road.

This, it says, is the reason for the lane reduction and roundabout.

The video says these mechanisms reduce speeds, lower crashes and improve mobility. The center left-turn lane moves turning vehicles out of the through lanes, reducing the risk of crashes.

It says the roundabout will go in at Wildwood because of the high number of crashes from red-light running and poor signal visibility.

The presentation cites data from the Federal Highway Administration that roundabouts replacing red lights will reduce crashes overall by 48% and serious injury crashes by 80%.

During the project, there will be no access to Glenwood from Wildwood, but one lane in each direction will be maintained on Glenwood.

During phase three of roundabout construction, Glenwood will be closed from Ewing Road to South Cadillac Drive, with traffic diverted to Shields Road, Market Street and Route 224.

The proposed 224 project will be paid for by ODOT Preservation and Safety funds, ODOT’s Transportation Review Advisory Council, and the Eastgate Council of Governments. The ODOT website estimates that the project will cost $3 million for design, $3 million to obtain necessary right-of-way for the new traffic lanes, and $14.3 million for construction.

The plan is to widen 224 to three eastbound lanes along the entire corridor, and three westbound lanes between South Avenue and Southern Boulevard, maintaining two westbound lanes west of Southern Boulevard.

The project will install median strips with right and left turning lanes, and U-turn access at Marinthana Avenue and the western entrance to the Shops at Boardman Park.

The project also will dramatically reduce the number of driveway left turns along the corridor.

The project also will remove the traffic lights at California Avenue, Southern Park Mall and Applewood Commons, converting those driveways to right-in / right-out movements to maintain business and roadway access while eliminating problems caused by left turns.

Durbin said a $17.6 million widening project along Western Reserve Road – scheduled to begin next week – should be completed by the time the 224 and Glenwood projects are set to begin.

The public comment period for the Glenwood project closes Oct. 20.