Mall Road project receives funding
By ERIC AYRES, Times Leader News EditorST. CLAIRSVILLE - Improvements as part of the first phase of a long-term plan to enhance traffic flow on and around Mall Road in St. Clairsville will be moving forward thanks to funding awarded through the Ohio Department of Transportation.
Belmont County Commissioners announced Wednesday that as a result of the board's meeting in recent weeks with ODOT officials in Columbus, the state agency this past week approved the safety application for the project.
"The approval of the Mall Road Safety Application is tremendous news for Belmont County and our retail area," said Commissioner Chuck Probst.
Officials said the safety application improvement project involves two basic components.
The first would be the improvement of the Mall Road intersection with enhancements to the westbound exit ramp and Red Roof Lane. The existing left turn lane on the exit ramp would be extended to provide more storage for left turning vehicles. Red Roof Lane would be widened to include two egress lanes (left and right turn lanes) and one ingress lane.
The second component would be interconnecting all of the signals along Mall Road from Banfield Road north to U.S. 40 and the Eric Drive and U.S. 40 traffic signal.
Officials said this will enable the traffic system to communicate between signal locations with traffic volume information and move traffic through the corridor more efficiently.
"We have been working diligently with ODOT to see these much-needed improvements come to our retail area," said Commissioner Matt Coffland. "This is only the beginning of what we want to see done at the Ohio Valley Mall.
Currently it is the intent of ODOT to construct this project in 2012. Should right-of-way be required on the Red Roof Lane approach, the project may be delayed until 2013, officials said.
The current estimate for this project is approximately $960,000. The cost of the project will be funded through ODOT.
"This is the first phase of a multi-phase effort to improve traffic flow to and from the mall area," said Commissioner Ginny Favede. "Later phases will ultimately open up the land behind the Ohio Valley Mall and Lowe's for future retail development."
Plans for improvements to the Mall Road area have been in the works for several years. Long-term plans for the area include the construction of a new interchange over Interstate 70 that will link the available property to the west of Ohio Valley Plaza and open property to the west of the Ohio Valley Mall.
The city of St. Clairsville annexed property adjacent to the plaza several years ago with the intention of some day working with the property owner to develop it into what was called "St. Clair Commons." Caffaro Company, which operates the mall, had been interested in creating another access to their property, which would create a "second front" to the mall.
Officials said $6.9 million in federal money was earmarked for the project years ago and is still available. The Transportation Improvement District has another $500,000, officials said.
"This project sort of got put on the side burner," said Coffland, noting that some mistakes in original tabulations were discovered by the TID, which brought the project "back to life."
Favede said local officials hope to see the long-term Mall Road Interchange Improvement Project returned to ODOT's 14-step Project Development Process. The project was at no. 4 in the process, Favede said.
"Congressman Space is continuing his efforts to secure additional transportation dollars for this project," said Favede, who noted that now is prime time for moving forward with projects such as this. "The federal government is looking at investments in infrastructure - like the building of roads - as sound economic development.
"Any money coming from any other sources helps these kinds of projects move forward and relives the burden on the county's budget."
Ayres can be reached at eayres@timesleaderonline.com
