A couple different construction projects have created congestion at the already busy intersection of South Avenue and Route 224.
"It's a mess, and I'm sure it's very confusing to a lot of people," says one driver while sitting in a line of cars headed south on South Avenue.
"I drive back and forth every day to work up here, you know, but it's a real pain because it's an inconvenience to me, as a customer," adds another frustrated motorist.
Mahoning County and Ohio Department of Transportation crews are racing to repave roads during these last few good fall weather days. "Today [Tuesday] is the last day we'll be paving that area [Route 224 widening], and once that paving is complete today, you'll have the intermediate course laid throughout the whole project area there," says Justin Chesnic, Acting Public Information Officer for ODOT District 4.
Further north on South Avenue, crews are repaving both sides of the street at the same time, sending single-file lines of cars to and from Route 224.
The traffic back-ups have kept cars from pulling into the Valvoline Instant Oil Change service center on the corner. "We're down maybe four or five cars a day. I know that people are just trying to avoid this general corner altogether, you know. They say, 'Oh, you work down there? I don't want to head down that way. It's a nightmare,'" says Bob Pugh, Service Center Manager.
ODOT officials say they'll need another four or five 60-degree days to wrap up the 224 widening project. But even if they don't get it done this fall, they'll open things up for holiday traffic. Chesnic says, "Motorists will be able to drive through there without restrictions through the Thanksgiving, Christmas season, and through the winter. Then, what we'll do is, we'll come back in the spring, and once we get some warm weather, we'll take about a week to maybe two weeks to finish paving and striping that."
For now, Chesnic says the best thing drivers can do is slow down, follow the signs, and be patient.
