$1.3M Project in East Liverpool Will on Street Lights

EAST LIVERPOOL, Ohio — After nearly 20 years, the street lights along the state Route 30/39 corridor from this city’s East End to the cloverleaf onto West Eighth Street are going to be replaced with working lights.

Mayor Ryan Stovall this week signed a purchase order for just slightly more than $1.3 million for a contract with Cornerstone Electric of Salem for the project, which has been in the works for more than a year.

Cornerstone was awarded the contract by the Board of Control as the lowest and best of two bidders, with the other bid coming in at $1.6 million from Eclipse Company of Chagrin Falls.

Most of the cost, 95%, will be paid with funding from the Ohio Department of Transportation, with the city’s 5% share to be paid with a loan from the State Infrastructure Bank.

Stovall said the lights, which were installed when the highway was built, have not worked properly for at least 20 years.

“It was due to a lack of maintenance over years,” he said. “It’s one of the projects coming into office I was adamant about getting done, and the grant came along, and everything fell into place,” Stovall said.

The mayor credited former Planning Director Bill Cowan for securing the grant. “Without the grant, this wouldn’t happen. The city couldn’t come up with that kind of money,” he said.

The project entails new poles where needed, new wiring and updated LED lighting, with Stovall saying replacement of the faulty lights is not only a safety issue but an aesthetic and economic development one for the city.

“It’s another step in bringing East Liverpool back. I compare it to [renovation of] the fountain. It gives people hope. But, the No. 1 priority is safety,” he emphasized.

The time line for the project will be released in September, with work to begin in October. According to Stovall, “As long as the weather is good, they’ll work, then resume work in the spring, with tentative completion set for June.”

It is anticipated the new light poles won’t be available until after the first of the year due to recent flooding near the plants where they are manufactured, the mayor added.

Pictured at top: Lights along state Routes 30/39 in East Liverpool will be repaired and replaced, with new LED bulbs installed.

Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.