YOUNGSTOWN — The Mahoning County Engineer’s Office unveiled details this week about its 2026 paving program.

At Thursday’s regular meeting of the Mahoning County commissioners, county Engineer Patrick Ginnetti entered a formal record of bid for paving 11 miles of county roads this year.

While the official bids have not been formally released, four contractors submitted proposals for the work — The Shelly Co. of Twinsburg, Wheatland, Pa.-based Lindy Paving, Jackson Township-based Shelly & Sands Inc. and North Lima-based R.T. Vernal Paving & Excavating Inc.

The exact amount of the paving project is not yet clear, but Ginnetti said the county’s grant from the Ohio Public Works Commission is $975,000 with a local match of $1,293,284.

Mahoning County also has access to $4.5 million from the county’s 0.25% sales tax for roads and bridges.

This year, Mahoning County will pave more than three dozen roads in multiple townships. These include: Walker Mill Road, Mathews Road, Burkey Road, Shields Road, Schenley Road, Tippecanoe Road, Unity Road, Renkenberger Road, Herbert Road, South Lipkey Road, Middletown Road, Ellsworth Road, Ellsworth Station Road, Oyster Road, Seacrist Road, Turner Road, County Line Road, Robinson Road, Heacock Road, Leffingwell Road, Crum Road, Palmyra Road, Beard Road, Garfield Road, Beaver-Springfield Road, Norman Road, Crory Road, Smith-Goshen Road and Duck Creek Road; as well as Shuttleworth Drive, Kish Drive and Ludwick Road in Coitsville; Rapp Road, Harmon Road and Golden Rye Circle in Springfield Township; Leffingwell Road, Maplevale Drive, Ivy Lane and Chidester Drive in Canfield Township; Lakeview Street, Mill Road, Alois Lane and Harbor Avenue in Milton Township; Smith-Goshen Road and Oyster Road in Smith Township; and Middletown Road in Goshen Township.

Ginnetti said the OPWC grant will cover 6.5 miles of road — Walker Mill, Mathews, Burkey, Shields and Schenley — while the sales tax will cover the remaining 4.5 miles.

Ginnetti has been giving presentations at local township trustees meetings since early February, making the case for the renewal of the sales tax in the May primary.

The sales tax, originally passed in November 2021, will provide more than $50 million for another five years, or about $10 million per year. It is split between the county and townships for road maintenance — $4 million each — and $2 million goes to Ginnetti’s office to maintain and replace the county’s bridges.

He said that with increasing costs and revenue limited to the state’s gas tax and Bureau of Motor Vehicle license fees, which remain stagnant (his office receives no revenue from property taxes), the county would see fewer and fewer roads paved with only the OPWC grant funding. Instead, with the aid of the sales tax, the county has paved more roads each year for the past three years.