What's New

Twenty-nine projects in the Greater Akron area will receive $28 million in federal funds thanks to the Akron Metropolitan Area Transportation Study (AMATS). While the bulk of the funds will be used to maintain the area’s existing roads – roughly $4 million to repaving alone – a significant share is committed to expanding the area’s network of bike trails.

Among the projects to benefit from the agency’s bikeway push is a project to link downtown Kent and Kent State University with an esplanade that connects to The Portage Bike & Hike Trail. This esplanade is a key part of the Kent Central Gateway project. The final piece of the Towpath Trail in Summit County, just south of downtown Akron, also received funding as did the new Freedom Secondary Trail that connects the Towpath Trail through Akron’s Northside district and Cascade Village area to Tallmadge.

Several roadway improvements also received a boost from the agency including an intersection improvement at state Routes 14 and 59 and Newton Falls Road in Ravenna Township and a project to construct a roundabout at the intersection of Smith and Riverview roads in Akron. Both projects will reduce the number of crashes at these intersections.

“At a time when local governments are struggling financially, these federal funds are more important than ever. The traveling public can be assured that these investments will result in tangible improvements to the region’s transportation infrastructure,” AMATS Director Jason Segedy observes.

(A complete listing of projects to receive funding through the agency accompanies this release.)

AMATS is the regional transportation planning agency serving the Greater Akron area of Portage and Summit counties and Chippewa Township in Wayne County. For additional information, please call AMATS at 330-375-2436 or send an e-mail to amats@akronohio.gov.