MAHONING COUNTY, Ohio - Mahoning County Engineer Patrick Ginnetti gave an update today on the Western Reserve Road project in Boardman and Beaver Townships. He said this phase of the plan will widen the road to three lanes from Interstate-680 to Reserve Commons Drive, just before Market Street. This is phase two of the plan to widen Hitchcock Blvd. to Interstate-680.

"You'll have an eastbound lane, a westbound lane and a dual turning lane in the middle," Ginnetti said.  "There's a lot of congestion there, and anybody that goes to turn left is going to create severe traffic congestion because you can't with two lanes, which often results in accidents too."

Local business owners on the stretch are looking forward to the change and said the current road creates traffic issues for customers. 

"We're excited about that," Bread Chef owner, Mike Landgraff said. "We've been here for 12 years and over those years as we've grown, the traffic has increased here, so there's definitely a need for that."

Woolley Auto Group LLC owner, Thomas Woolley, said he feels this will benefit businesses and the safety of patrons. 

"The customers that come down this road say it's really busy, so it's a tremendous idea to have the center turning lane on Western Reserve Road," Woolley said. 

The county says construction will be an inconvenience; however, the road will maintain two-way traffic through the duration of the project. 

"It's going to be a lot slower with the construction activity," Ginnetti said. "But once it's done, it's going to be much better."

The county held a public meeting in regards to the project this evening virtually. Click here for details.

The cost for the project is about $6 million and the money will come from federal and local funding out of the county budget. The roadwork is set to start in October 2022 and should take a year to complete.