LIBERTY TWP, Ohio - A sidewalk project that would connect hotel and commercial parts of the Belmont Corridor was approved by Liberty Township Trustees in a Thursday meeting.

The project will be fully funded by a $446,000 grant from the Western Reserve Transit Authority (WRTA), Liberty Township Trustee Arnie Clebone told 21 News. In the Thursday meeting trustees chose to go forward with the lowest bidder on the project, Foust Construction at $238,649.49 for the project; they are looking toward other local projects to put the remaining WRTA funds toward.

Approximately 4,222 square feet of sidewalk will be constructed on the east side of Belmont Avenue. The project will start in the spring or early summer of 2026 and Clebone said he does not predict it to be a lengthy project or one that will heavily impact traffic in the area.

Clebone said the project will effectively connect those staying in the nearby hotels to restaurants and commercial areas on Belmont Avenue, while also helping accommodate those who take the WRTA bus lines. 

"It connects other parts of Belmont with this part of Belmont," Clebone said. "What I think is important about this though is that, in other places near highways you have to get back in your car and get back on the highway to find a restaurant to eat it, here they can stay at a hotel, cross the street and get ice cream or go to Denny's or the Indian restaurant down the street. It connects them without having to get back in their car."

The new sidewalks will also connect to the sidewalks built in the summer of 2025 near Giant Eagle, Clebone added.

Clebone said the Building a Better Belmont initiative is at the heart of the project as trustees continue to make improvements to the corridor.

In the near future, he added that he would also like to see more nearby neighborhoods connected with sidewalk projects of their own.

"There's a number of homes we have where there are no sidewalks. There is traffic on those streets and it will also better connect residents to the commercial area," Cleborne said.

In addition to neighborhoods, trustees are also looking forward to making more improvements to Churchill Park in the coming years.