The city of Kent has received a $5.25 million federal grant that will help restart a major improvement project for a highly trafficked area of downtown Kent. Specifically, the project, which is estimated to cost $25.5 million overall, will concentrate on improvements along East Main Street from Willow Road to Horning Road and will include changes such as wider sidewalks and shared bike and pedestrian paths.
Kent State University has worked with the city of Kent and other community partners on improving safety in this area for more than five years, however, recent inflation caused the groups to put those efforts on hold, said Kent City Engineer Jim Bowling.
The new federal grant will get the project back on track, Bowling told WEWS News 5 Cleveland. Improvements will include changing the five-lane road to a three-lane boulevard with three signals, two roundabouts, wider sidewalks and six pedestrian crossings.
According to a report in the Record-Courier, the design phase of the project is expected to be complete by 2024 with the three-year construction project beginning in 2025.
Learn more about the East Main Street improvements project.
# # #
Top Photo Caption:
Construction of Crawford Hall along East Main Street.