HOWLAND - Trumbull County Commissioners unanimously voted on Wednesday to permanently close Pine Avenue in Howland to accommodate for work being done on the forthcoming Kimberly-Clark manufacturing plant.

All three commissioners voted to close the stretch of Pine Avenue between Burton Street and Deforest Road to traffic beginning on March 27.

When the road closes drivers will be rerouted down State Route 169. This detour is expected to add less than three minutes for drivers.

"I think after a few months of using the new route they won't even realize that it's extra time that they're taking to get to their destination," David DeChristofaro the Trumbull County Engineer said. 

The road closure is part of Kimberly-Clark's project to construct an $800 million manufacturing facility in Warren. On one side of Pine Avenue work has started for a manufacturing plant and distribution center. However, Kimberly Clark also owns the green space across the street. Vacating the road would allow them to combine the plots and make a mega site. 

"If were not able to get this segment of road vacated it really does not, it compromises the opportunity for growth on the site,” Branch Sinkule, a Senior Director of Governmental Relations for Kimberly Clark said. 

The Youngstown-Warren Regional Chamber released a statement calling this vote a "forward-thinking decision" that supports economic development in the area.

"Kimberly-Clark has been a strong corporate addition to our community and their investment brings high-quality jobs, major infrastructure improvements and long-term economic impact to the Mahoning Valley," the statement reads. "It's also further evidence that our region has overcome an old mindset of competing across jurisdictions and organizations, and is now working together to advance shared economic goals."

Representatives from Warren city and Howland both support Pine Avenue being closed. It's an area that drivers often see shut down. 

"That part of Pine Avenue used to flood…when you think about it this new road that will be developed will actually be a better source of travel,” Rick Hernandez a Trumbull County Commissioner said. 

The county will also see $17 million of state funded upgrades to the roads drivers will have to take more often.

“12 foot lanes, two foot paved shoulders, six inch curbs, enclosed drainage systems on both sides to eliminate ditches,” DeChristofaro said about the upgrades to roads around the site. 

And to make the drive shorter between State Route 169 and 45 a connecter bridge will be built over the Mahoning River.

Deforest Road and Lane West will see work from 2026 to 2027 for upgrades. Burnett East will see work from 2027 to 2028 for upgrades. The bridge over the river will start to be constructed in 2028 and is expected to be finished in 2029.

RELATED COVERAGE: