NEW PHILADELPHIA, Ohio – The Ohio Department of Transportation must complete additional geotechnical studies on the two potential alignments for the proposed US Route 30 project through Stark, Carroll and Columbiana counties.
Upgrading existing U.S. 30 has been eliminated as an alternative.
According to ODOT District 11 Deputy Director Myron Pakush, environmental impacts on the two remaining potential alignments are too close to clearly identify a preferred route. Additional geotechnical work on both the northern and southern alignments should help determine a preferred alternative and also refine the project’s construction cost estimates.
No news ’til 2003. ODOT expects this geotechnical work to take approximately nine months. A preferred alignment for the corridor will be announced in early 2003.
To date, no construction funding has been identified for this 35-mile project. However, Pakush said ODOT is still committed to moving this project forward.
The project would connect the segment recently completed in Stark County to the four-lane, limited access highway of state Route 11.
Information on the project’s objectives, status, schedule and maps of the alternatives still under study is available on the project’s Web site at: www.us30info.org.
Questions can also be answered by calling the toll-free information hot line at 1-800-539-2119.
