WARREN - The Warren City Council approved a plan to build a bridge over the Mahoning River that connects the Warren Community Amphitheatre in Perkins Park to downtown near West Market Street at a City Council meeting Monday night.

The project will cost $2.4 million with funds provided by the state of Ohio through the American Rescue Plan.

"It's going to attract and connect our downtown to our amphitheatre and to our most used park in the City of Warren," said Mayor Doug Franklin.

The bridge connects to a peninsula on the river that contains Thumm's Bike and Clock, as well as CharBenay's Wine on the River.

Franklin says the project is part of a larger effort to revitalize the Mahoning River and the communities that it runs through.

Franklin was one of several mayors who founded the Mahoning River Corridor Initiative, a group that performs economic, recreation, and conservation work along the Mahoning River with Ohio EPA funds. The group operates under the Western Reserve Port Authority.

They began an effort to remove nine dams along the river to clean out the river and remove public safety hazards. 

"Removal of the dam is going to enhance the recreation in and along the river, particularly kayaking and canoeing," he said.

Franklin adds that the river would become more suitable for flyfishing. 

Construction for the bridge will begin in early-to-mid spring and will be completed over the summer, according to Franklin.