By Samantha Phillips
On Thursday, the City of Youngstown and Youngstown State University officials announced that Lincoln Avenue will be reopened on Dec. 23 after almost four months of construction.
Ron Cole, YSU public information officer, said the road closure was inconvenient for students, employees and businesses over the past semester, but the enhancements will be worth it.
“Especially once spring comes around, and the snow clears, they’ll see it was for the best,” he said.
According to Cole, the main purpose of the project was to make the road safer for pedestrians to cross.
“Efforts were made to slow traffic and improve crosswalks,” he said.
The $1.4 million project consisted of widening the roads, improving curbs, lighting, sidewalks and crosswalks, adding lane configurations, landscaping and removing some parking spaces.
Contractors will return to Lincoln Avenue for two days for landscaping, but must wait until the temperature is warmer. The road will remain open as they work.
While it’s a relief that construction on Lincoln Avenue is finished, there is still a long way to go before Wick Avenue will be reopened.
The Wick Avenue project, which began in October, is scheduled to be completed in September 2017. Construction runs from Wood Street to the Eastbound Service Road.
The $4.1 million project includes utility line replacement, installing new traffic lights, reducing the three lanes in the road to two and repaving the road.
Due to the Wick Avenue construction, the portion of Lincoln Avenue that runs between Phelps street and Wick will remain closed. These projects were a collaboration between the City of Youngstown and YSU, and they both contributed funding for the road improvements.