EAST LIVERPOOL — One of biggest improvement projects the City of East Liverpool is planning is the complete reconstruction of state Route 39 from Mulberry Street East in the east end of the city to the Pennsylvania state line.

The city last year was awarded $29,712,043 in funding for the project from the Multimodal Project Discretionary Grant Program.

The project will include the removal and replacement of the pavement, creation of roundabouts, lane widening, curve improvements, storm water enhancements, public utility improvements including increased broadband, sidewalks that are connected and continuous and, to be compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act, will also include curb ramps, curb bump outs, on-street parking , trees, lawns and street lighting. It will also include the removal of the trolley lines and tie in with the bike trail the city is working on.

Planning Director Bill Cowan has been participating in weekly Zoom meetings with the state regarding the state Route 39 project. During one of those meetings, it was discovered that the city could not include water and sewer in the $29.7 million the city was awarded, but they could include it in a Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) Grant.

City council has already approved an ordinance for an application for the RAISE Grant but not in an amount that would cover the water and sewer.

Cowan has requested the East Liverpool City Council’s Finance Committee approve amending the ordinance previously approved by council and passing that amended ordinance on to council for a vote to approve.

The ordinance as approved originally granted the mayor or planning director the authority to apply for the RAISE Grant in the amount of $7.5 million.

Cowan has requested that it be amended to ask for $13.543 million. The original $7.5 million requested was to cover the matching funds the city needs to pay toward the project. The additional funding request is to cover the water and sewer portion of the project not included in the funding awarded to the city.

Council will be asked to declare the ordinance an emergency and vote on it when presented to them during the March 4 council meeting.

If the city is successful in getting the grant application approved, it would give the city 100% of the funding they need for the state Route 39 project.

The city has been assigned a representative from U.S. Department of Transportation to help them manage the project.

While the beginning of the project is still a way out yet, probably the 2027 or 2028 construction season, the city’s administration is excited about it and the possibilities it will bring to the city.

There are still some preliminary things to complete before the project can start.

KORDA/Nemeth Engineering Inc., of Columbus, who helped write the original grant application, will be doing the design work for the project. Once the design phase is finished, the project will bid for engineering.

Mayor Bobby Smith said once the work is complete it would be a game changer for the city, and it would fix years of dysfunction. He also believes once completed the project will open the city up for more opportunities including getting the interest of new businesses and help existing businesses.

Smith says the Quantex, which is right down the road from the Cracker Plant, will benefit from the project once completed.

The excitement of this and the bike trail is putting all the focus on East Liverpool for a change. It’s all positive things, Smith said.

Cowan said getting to this point on this project has been a real team effort with the involvement of a lot of people.

Progress is being made on the design of the paved Greenway Bike Trail through the city which is currently under design.

The city received funding for the first of six phases of the construction of the bike trail about a year and a half ago and shortly before Christmas, Cowan was notified that phase 1.2 of the bike trail has been funded.

Phase one of the trail will go from the Broadway Wharf up Broadway Street to Fifth Street, then onto Walnut Street and then go left on 4th Street up to the dead end. The project must be sent out for bid, so there is no estimated start date for construction yet.

Phase 1.2 of the trail will pick up where phase one ends and will go down the old Pennsylvania Avenue right of way and cross Virginia Avenue and go back into the neighborhood. There are additional plans to continue the bike trail to the Point of Beginning at the state line.

Smith noted that one of the city’s goals is to add a visitors center to the left of the Point of Beginning. This is just a goal with planning begun for it, but that it will likely happen.

Smith also noted that Pennsylvania wants to connect their bike trail to East Liverpool’s bike trail when it reaches that point.

Tying into the Point of Beginning is Ohio’s participation in the United States 250th anniversary celebration. Smith and Safety Service Director Bill Jones believe that East Liverpool’s participation in the birthday celebration will put the city back on the map in a very positive way.

To celebrate, according to Smith, the State of Ohio wants to select 250 cities, villages or municipalities to participate in statewide celebrations.

East Liverpool has been accepted as a 250-city based on it being the point of beginning. Cities selected to be a 250-city are eligible for possible grants.

The director of the Ohio 250 will be coming to East Liverpool in April to see the Point of Beginning.

Jones described the Ohio 250 as a state-based volunteer commission. He also said with East Liverpool’s selection as a 250-city, the Ohio 250 commission will promote East Liverpool as a location for people to come visit and to the events held in those cities.

Jones is going to ask council during its meeting tonight to pass a resolution allowing him to form a committee to plan and host events on July 4, 2026, to coincide with the rest of the state which will help bring people to East Liverpool and those events and to visit the Point of Beginning and all the other historical buildings in the area. There are 13 historical plaques across the city.

One of the requirements to being a 250-city is to partner with a community group and East Liverpool has partnered with East Liverpool Committee for Revitalization.

Jones said everything they are trying to do is to keep things positive and to make East Liverpool look better and appeal to outside areas especially with all the history in the town.

Jones is excited about the city participating in the Ohio 250 and said he can’t wait for that and it will be a good thing.

“We are trying to be positive and one of the mayor’s goals is to clean and we are working on different grants to help clean,” Jones said.

Jones noted that the city has a group of volunteers that formed at the beginning of the year called the East Liverpool Beautification Committee and they help do things to help clean up and improve the town cosmetically. Anyone interested in being a part of the committee can contact Jones at city hall.

While there were over 40 blighted or condemned houses submitted to the and bank for consideration for demolition, that has been put on hold due to a lack of funding.

Cowan noted that the land bank has been a huge help in getting a number of them down and possible funding sources to get more demolished are being looked for.

The city has not yet designated the roads that will be done during the 2024 street paving or chip and seal. Jones and Cowan are discussing those.

The city joined with the Jefferson County Water and Sewer District on its mega planning grant along with 13 other counties with over 60 projects. They are waiting to see if the grants are awarded, so the city could see the old Riverview Florist restored to an event space with a winery and walking path, which Cowan said would have a phenomenal effect on the city.

With funding now in place and the design started for the Thompson building, work could begin soon. The developer Craig Cozza is on board and weekly meetings are taking place regarding it. Once completed the building will be used for retail, office and living space. East Liverpool City Hospital plans to move offices into the building and use the apartments to house their interns/residents. The business moving into the Thompson building will create 25 to 30 jobs. Cozza, who also owns bike shops, will be moving one of his shops into the first floor of the building which will tie in with the bike trail.

Construction on the Thompson building could begin this summer and take approximately a year and a half to complete.

Jones said the completion of the Thompson building will be a big boost to the city as it will bring people downtown to shop, eat, use the biking path and see the historical sites.

The projects being constructed by Scout Solar are on hold due to the weather making it too muddy for work. They will resume work as soon as the weather clears up, Jones said. They currently have a project started at the water plant and plan to start rebuilding the wharf which will be done next to get ready for boating season. They will also be doing a project at Fifth and Broadway streets which will include a parking lot and an outdoor entertainment area with a stage.

Smith believes sprucing up the wharf for the boaters will help bring more people into the area.

Funding has been obtained, and work is expected to begin this year on the water intake damaged about seven years ago by a barge. Neither Cowan, Smith nor Jones were able to provide additional details on that project since the Board of Public Utilities has been reinstated and handles that now.

Cowan, Smith and Jones are excited about the positive changes and improvements getting ready to happen in East Liverpool and are continuing to search for more ways to bring positive change and improvements to the city.

kgarabrandt@mojonews.com