Staff photos / R. Michael Semple A roadside sign tells motorists traveling west on state Route 82 that the ramp to state Route 46 is closed until Aug. 29 as construction on the Ohio Department of Transportation’s diverging diamond continues. The project is ahead of schedule and could be wrapped up by late October.

HOWLAND — The diverging diamond project at state Routes 46 and 82 is ahead of schedule and could be wrapped up by late October, according to Justin Chesnic, public information officer for the Ohio Department of Transportation District 4.

It originally was supposed to be completed by the end of summer 2026.

In the meantime, motorists will have to deal with a major closure that began Friday. The Route 46 exit ramp from Route 82 westbound will be closed through Aug. 29. Other closures will follow.

“Once that’s done, on Aug. 29, Labor Day weekend, we’re gonna come in on Sept. 2, after the holiday and for about a month, we’re going to have a section where Route 46 southbound is going to be closed under Route 82,” Chesnic said. “So Route 46, they’ll be able to continue north, but if you’re coming on that ramp from 82 west, you’re not going to be able to go south.”

He said during that monthlong period, they’ll be constructing the splitter islands and final pavement markings for the diamond’s northbound side, which he expects to be completed by early October.

Route 46 under Route 82 is going to be closed completely for two to three weeks after that, Chesnic said, to do the other side’s splitter islands, pavement markings and signs.

Howland was in ODOT’s plan for a new diverging diamond location since appearing on ODOT’s 2015, 2016 and 2017 Highway Safety Improvement Program Urban Non-Freeway priority lists.

Per the state’s safety study, “159 crashes occurred at the Route 46 and Route 82 ramp intersections between 2012 and 2016.” ODOT officials said the project was one of the biggest — at $20.4 million — to be launched in 2023 in the Mahoning Valley, starting Sept. 14 of that year.

Its completion will make it the third diverging diamond in the state — with the other two in Columbus and Toledo.

Chesnic said ODOT hasn’t faced any unforeseen problems with the project’s completion thus far. He noted the amount of traffic in the area, however.

“There’s been a lot of congestion going through there, but we work with local law enforcement, and we’ve gotten through those kinds of bumps,” Chesnic said. “And that has gone fine — the big thing is coming up here, just this final push for work. We’ll take a couple of months, and then we should be in good shape.

CLOSURES AND COMMERCE

Joe Bell, director of corporate communications at The Cafaro Company, said the closures may cause some “brief aggravation” for motorists approaching from state Route 11, who prefer taking Route 82 to the Eastwood Mall complex.

In the time since construction began, Bell said the Eastwood Mall hasn’t seen any “diminishing crowds” or dropoff in visitors.

“It’s certainly something of an annoyance for some motorists,” Bell said. “If they’re really intent on doing their business in the heart of the Niles commercial sector — which the Eastwood Mall anchors — they’re going to find a way to get there.”

Bell praised ODOT for being able to keep traffic flowing despite the complicated nature of the project.

“I drive through that intersection twice a day and throughout the whole process, I really have to give it to the folks at ODOT because they’ve managed to keep traffic flowing even though it’s a complex reconstruction,” Bell said. “Sure, there have been moments where people have to get detoured or have to drive an extra mile or two to get around, but it really hasn’t been difficult.

“We’ve been going through this process for well over a year, maybe two, and it really hasn’t diminished access to folks who want to visit the Eastwood Mall Complex,” he added.

EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES

In terms of whether the two weeks of construction will cause complications for police or fire services, officials expressed confidence that there wouldn’t be any issues.

Howland Fire Chief Raymond Pace said after a Wednesday trustees meeting that his department has been working with ODOT and its contractor, who invited the township’s department heads to a meeting.

“When the closure essentially happens, we will operate similarly to when the closure happened for both of the bridges being torn down,” Pace said. “We have one fire station that’s south of Route 82 on Ridge Road. So we do have units on the south side of the closure.”

Pace said they’ll be working with the construction company, with whom they can communicate daily and find out areas where emergency units can pass through.

He said they still have alternative routes and a response system similar to when the bridges came down — and they didn’t have issues then.

Pace said they’ve had practice runs of the route — at least twice so far.

Township administrator James Pantalone, a former fire chief, echoed the belief in their services’ ability to adjust.

“The reconfiguration of all of that down there is problematic for all of us; it’s just an inconvenience,” Pantalone said. “But I don’t see any problem; I know police and fire adapt very well to this, they adapted well when they took out the bridges, with having the road closure, so it’s a pretty good standard operation.”