The median strip in the middle of federal street in downtown Youngstown will soon be gone. Everything... The concrete, the dirt, the fence and the 22 trees will be removed. Today, Youngstown's board of control agreed on a 474-thousand dollar contract with an austintown company--- to do the work.Crews will widen and re-pave west federal from phelps street to fifth avenue, adding parking spaces and making it easier for W-R-T-A buses to get around.

"WE'RE GOING TO DO SOME MILLING OF THE EXISTING CONCRETE, SOME REPAVING, THERE WILL BE SOME CONCRETE ISLAND WORK, SOME VERY MINOR ELECTRICAL WORK, AND THEN WE'LL BE ADDING SOME DIAGONAL PARKING SPACES, THERE WILL BE SOME PORTIONS OF THE ISLAND REMOVED, AS WELL AS A VERY MINIMAL AMOUNT OF TREES REMOVED."---Charles Shasho/Youngstown Deputy Director of Public Works

And he says some of the existing trees on the island will be left alone...Others will be planted on the sides of the road. He says you can expect construction to start sometime in the next 30 to 45 days, and the entire project should take four or five months to finish.