Officials suggest changes to state Route 619
The Ohio Department of Transportation has some ideas for improving traffic flow on state Route 619, between Uniontown and Hartville.
The proposed work is subject to change and likely several years from beginning, officials said.
Initial designs were unveiled Thursday night at an open house at the Kaufman Center. ODOT officials and representatives of TranSystem, a company hired to study Route 619 traffic flow, talked with residents.
Rough estimates set the price for improving the four-mile stretch from Cleveland Avenue NW to Prospect Street NW in Hartville at more that $27 million. The projected costs add 12 percent for inflation and another 25 percent for design contingencies.
The designs estimate traffic volume and flow for 2030, said David E. Sicker, a planning engineer for ODOT’s District 4. Plans call for widening the road and creating roundabouts at several intersections.
ODOT officials liked the turnout and the input they received. Sicker acknowledged that everyone wasn’t positive but said ODOT had the event to hear from people who live in the area.
State officials have spent about a year on the project. They have met with local government, school officials and some business owners.
The next step — some time next year — is lining up money to pay for a detailed design. ODOT and the Stark Transportation Improvement District are seeking funds.
The project’s first phase would be widening Route 619 between Kaufman Avenue NW and Milan Avenue in Hartville.
It would be widened to five lanes west of Hartville, where the Hartville Kitchen and Flea Market are located, and a complex to house Hartville Hardware is being built. In the village, the road would remain three lanes, but be improved.
Area residents who attended the meeting saw eight aerial photographs depicting potential changes aimed at improving traffic flow.
Other potential changes:
• Widening Route 619 to four lanes from Cleveland Avenue NW to Kaufman.
• Rebuilding the intersections of Hoover, Kaufman and King Church avenues NW to create roundabouts.
• Creating a roundabout at Market Avenue NW.
• Adding turn lanes at all of the heavily traveled intersections.
• Lengthening existing turn lanes at several intersections.
