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NILES -- A $2.2 million project aiming to improve the quality of life for motorists and pedestrians on the city's central road in its downtown area is underway, but isn't expected to affect local businesses, says Mayor Steve Mientkiewicz.
According to a news release from the mayor's office, the city's Congestion Mitigation & Air Quality (CMAQ) Signalization Project has begun and will last approximately 315 days -- weather permitting.
The release states the project will take place on Main Street, from State Street to North Road, and will involve the reconstruction of seven traffic signals, implementing traffic signal coordination and replacing preexisting signage, as well as adding curb ramps to meet Americans with Disabilities Act compliance requirements.
The project is 80% funded by CMAQ dollars, a federally funded program through the city's Eastgate Regional Council of Governments partner. The remaining 20% was funded locally, according to Mientkiewicz.
He said city officials were looking at grant opportunities to update the city's downtown infrastructure and help with revitalization and beautification efforts, leading them to come across the CMAQ program in which the city has never participated.
"I think we were awarded about three years ago -- there was a lot of planning involved, a lot of traffic studies involved, a lot of design and engineering," Mientkiewicz said. "And now, today, we finally break ground on the project."
Mientkiewicz said the project's scope will update the technology in that one-mile Main Street stretch -- the cabling, fiber, programming, cabinets and the traffic lights themselves -- eliminating old poles and overhead and sagging wires by installing mast arms.
"The purpose is to make that traffic flow through Main Street in a continuous manner, and eliminate the congestion," Mientkiewicz said.
He said crews are at the intersection of Main and Maple streets, with excavation beginning on Main's northern part.
Mientiewicz said the closures or traffic delays over the 10-month period should be minor, adding that a bulk of the work is in the right-of-way and off the edge of the pavement.
"Motorists and pedestrians may see some delays or detours, again, just in the intersection areas, and a lot of it coming from the side streets," Mientkiewicz said. "There should not be much disturbance on Main Street itself -- just the intersections.
"A lot of the intersections (are) already marked out and flagged for where the masts are, excavations are going to be a lot of underground boring for the conduit and fiber. The existing cabinets, you'll be able to see where those are, and essentially those are just going to be reconstructed and replaced."
Mientkiewicz said the curb ramps and their adjacent areas are the main ones to be affected, noting that the corner, which is presently gravel at the new Niles Public Square that opened July 4 and was funded by state's Appalachian Regional Commission Grant Program, was supposed to concreted with ADA ramps.
"We chose to hold on that, and save a little money on the Appalachia project -- anticipating that corner was going to be dug up and replaced to ADA standards with the CMAQ grant," Mientkiewicz said.
Mientkiewicz said ARC money that might have been directed at the ramps ended up being reinvested toward other projects. He also said the 310-day expected completion time is a "worst-case scenario," but officials are anticipating a smooth project.
OTHER PHASES
Wednesday's starting construction is only one part of a bigger puzzle, with Mientkiewicz saying they've started looking at phase two of the Niles CMAQ project.
"Phase two is kind of a carbon copy; however, it's geared toward Robbins Avenue and Vienna Avenue, state Route 169 (and) state Route 46," Mientkiewicz said. "We were preliminarily funded last October, I believe. We had submitted for CMAQ phase two, and I believe that's to the tune of about $2.5 million."
Mientkiewicz said planning and design is supposed to start in 2027 and 2028, with construction kicking off in 2030.
Mientkiewicz said the project's phase three is more detailed, and costly, but will encompass U.S. Route 422 from Niles-Vienna to North Road.
"When we talk about infrastructure planning and project planning, (the) CMAQ program, we've identified it as a funding source for three separate projects that will push us out to approximately 2035," Mientkiewicz said.