STEUBENVILLE -- City Council approved an ordinance Tuesday night authorizing the city manager to advertise for professional engineering services for the next phase of the Lover's Lane improvement project.
The ordinance was read on three separate readings before the final approval.
City Engineer Michael Dolak said he is hoping to have an engineering firm hired later this year.
"Our conceptual design at this point will see Lovers Lane widened from the current nine and a half foot lanes to twelve foot lanes. We are also looking at expanding the Lovers Lane and Sunset Boulevard intersection," said..
"A roundabout at the Lovers Lane and Fort Steuben Mall interesection, if we choose that option, could be 100 percent federally funded. That would be the first phase of this project. The second phase would be widening the existing lanes and the Lovers Lane and Sunset Boulevard intersection," Dolak said.
"We anticipate hiring a design engineer by November. The actual design work will take place in 2013 and 2014 and we expect to see actually work starting in 2015," Dolak explained.
City officials have been reviewing and discussing plans for Lovers Lane to Fort Steuben Mall Drive for the past several years.
In other business during the regular council meeting a second reading was heard for an ordinance expanding the Steel Valley Regional Transit Authority to include the village of Wintersville.
The council heard a second reading for legislation directing the city Finance Director to rename the FEMA Fund to be called the Emergency Management Fund.
And a first reading was heard for a change in the employee table of organization.
Emergency legislation setting the appropriations appropriations for the remainder of the years as well as a revenue tax budget for the rest of 2012 was tabled and sent back to the finance committee to wait for clarification from City Manager Cathy Davison who was not at the council session..
The council also approved emergency legislation accepting a sanitary sewer easement from CVS Pharmacy.
And the council agreed to approve submission of the city's one year action plan for the 2012 Community Development Block Grant Funds.
Read the Wednesday edition of The Herald-Star for all the details from the City council meeting.
