Kent has received the last of the funding needed for an infrastructure project that will reimagine East Main Street. The busy roadway connects the Kent State University campus and downtown businesses and is the site of many car crashes each year.
The city recently received more than $5 million in grant funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to finish the long-awaited “Reimagining the Gateway” project.
For three consecutive years, East Main Street was rated the worst crash corridor in Portage and Summit counties by the Akron Metropolitan Area Transportation Study, which sparked the need for the project, said James Bowling, the city’s deputy director and engineering superintendent.
"Those safety problems include not just vehicular safety, but also pedestrian and bike safety as well,” Bowling said.
The $25.5 million project will be funded by the city and the new DOT grants. Though the project is still in the early planning stages, officials hope to add bike lanes, cross walks, roundabouts, and a tree-lined boulevard to the road-way, Bowling said.
The construction will be focused on East Main Street between Willow Street and Horning Road. Bowling said the improvements to East Main will help to calm traffic, reduce crashes and will hopefully encourage people to take the main road rather than cutting though neighborhood or side streets.
The city has been working since 2018 with the Portage Area Regional Transportation Authority, Kent State University and the Citizens Advisory Committee, a group that addresses public concerns, to develop the entrance into Downtown Kent and the university.
“It’s truly a collaborative effort, and it will transform the entrance into town and the north side of campus,” Bowling said.
East Main Street is described on the city’s website as “a hectic five lane road.” One side of the street is lined with commercial buildings: small shopping plazas and chain favorites like Chipotle, Dunkin’ and Papa Johns. Intermixed and behind these commercial properties are residential neighborhoods and apartment complexes. On the opposite side of the street lies Kent State’s campus.
The improvements will benefit longtime residents, students and people just passing through, Bowling said.
“It finds a better infrastructure for a less stressful traveling experience for all of those who are either are coming to this area or traveling though this area,” Bowling said.
The new gateway into Kent will have a tree-lined boulevard, wide sidewalks, bike paths and new entrances to neighborhood with the goals of creating a safer, more efficient community, he said.
According to the city’s website, the design should be completed by 2024 with construction to start in 2025, which will take an estimated three years.
