A virtual public involvement meeting is scheduled for Feb. 25 at 5:30 p.m. to discuss the U.S. 30 Roadway Relocation Project.
According to the Ohio Department of Transportation’s website, “the purpose of the virtual public involvement meeting will be to discuss the proposed extension of the four-lane U.S. Route 30 freeway from Trump Avenue to State Route 44.”
Topics of the meeting will cover environmental assessments, funding plan, right-of-way acquisition, project development and construction schedules.
During the meeting, questions about the social, environmental, and economic impacts of the proposed project are welcome from the public.
The estimated cost for the project is $115 million.
ODOT cites the purpose of the project is to “improve safety and reduce congestion along the section of US 30,” which currently passes through the Village of East Canton.
Moving the state route will limit through traffic from local streets in East Canton. ODOT’S website notes that the U.S. Route 30 stretch of roadway in question has “several locations on ODOT’s current statewide rankings of locations with excess crash frequencies.”
The relocation project has been discussed since 1957. In 1991, ODOT started the project to relocate U.S. 30 from Trump Ave. to SR 11 east of Lisbon. The project, which was set to be 35-miles long, was called off due to lack of funding.
ODOT reconvened and identified the section from Trump Ave. to SR 44 in 2004. Public input meetings were last held in 2006, but the project was “put on-hold” in late 2007, according to transportation.ohio.gov.
The project was restarted in 2014 and property owners were notified then about the restart.
Thursday’s meeting will be the first public involvement meeting since 2007.
More information: https://www.transportation.ohio.gov/wps/portal/gov/odot/projects/projects/20344