Senator Sherrod Brown swung through the valley Thursday, talking about an addition he made to the larger bi-partisan Infrastructure Bill. The Senator wants more funding to fix and rebuild bridges.

According to a recent report, More than 3,200 bridges in Ohio are in need of repair or replacement.

Senator Brown hopes the state will get $12 billion in the proposed infrastructure bill to upgrade those bridges and other infrastructure.
Brown hopes fixing infrastructure will also help spur economic development.

"This legislation will create jobs for the steel industry. Think of McDonald Steel in Trumbull County. This has the potential to mean more contracts for more steel jobs," said Brown.

Mahoning county engineer, Pat Ginnetti, says though no bridge in the county is currently in disrepair, it's best to fix and replace before something turns into a dangerous problem.

Ginnetti says the county is planning three major infrastructure projects over the next year.

The first is getting South Avenue completely paved from Youngstown down to Western Reserve Road.
Another project is the widening and resurfacing of Western Reserve from Hitchcock to Interstate 680.

Then there are important sanitary sewer projects.

"We have the 5 points pump station project which is going to build a regional pump station in the five points area. Run west along Western Reserve Road, past Hitchcock. We also have several major wastewater treatment plant upgrades we are working on right now," said Ginnetti.

Those major projects are expected to be completed over the next two years.