March goes out like a lion with three new AMATS-funded projects.
The AMATS Policy Committee approved more than $15.2 million in new funding for three major roadway projects throughout the Greater Akron area during its March 28.
AMATS is the federally designated metropolitan planning organization serving the Greater Akron area of Portage and Summit counties and a portion of Wayne County. The agency oversees the federal Surface Transportation Block Grant (STBG) funding program, which provides a flexible funding source for communities seeking to improve highways and bridges on any public road.
The agency’s Policy Committee unanimously approved funding for improvement projects in Cuyahoga Falls, Coventry Township, and Kent. Cuyahoga Falls is the largest recipient of STBG funds in the region with $6.1 million for the reconstruction of State Road between Quick Road and Boulder Boulevard. The State Road improvement project will include the addition of a two-way, left-turn lane and may include a roundabout.
The Summit County Engineer’s office landed $5.9 million for pavement replacement and new sidewalks along South Main Street, from Portage Lakes Drive to North Turkeyfoot Road, in Coventry Township.
The Kent-based project will receive more than $3.2 million and is jointly sponsored by Kent, the Portage Area Regional Transportation Authority (PARTA), and the Portage County Engineer’s office. Spanning along state Route 59, from east of Horning Road to state Route 261, the project will reconstruct pavement and include various pedestrian, signal, trail, and transit improvements along the corridor.
The state Route 59 project is the result of recommendations issued in PARTA’s State Route 59 Alternative Transportation Improvements Study, which was completed in May 2022. The study itself was funded by the AMATS Connecting Communities Program, which is an agency initiative to promote active transportation such as walking and cycling throughout the Greater Akron area.
Committee approval ends a comprehensive selection process that began last September when the agency began sifting through 26 STBG applications from project sponsors across the region. The projects will receive funding between now and 2029.