WARREN — Workers could soon start repairing key roads and intersections in the Golden Triangle industrial area. Officials expect to begin construction this spring once they clear up a bidding problem for one of three main projects.
The Trumbull County Engineer’s Office is working with Howland Township and the city of Warren. They are waiting for the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) to approve a new round of bids for Contract A. This contract will improve the tricky spot where Larchmont Avenue NE, Bronze Road NE and Overland Avenue NE meet. It includes a rail crossing that has caused big headaches for truck drivers.
Bids opened on Jan. 8 and came in more than 20% over what engineers expected. This is the third round of bids. Earlier tries were delayed by a partial government shutdown in late 2023 and just one bid in September.
“We updated the engineer’s estimate to about $505,000 to match today’s prices,” said Gary Shaffer, deputy county engineer. “We’re hopeful this round works. Once the EDA says yes, we’ll sign all three contracts at once, that’s their rule. Then we break ground as soon as late spring or early summer.”
A $3.3 million EDA grant from 2022 pays for the three contracts, which cost about $2.6 million to build. This includes Bronze Road fixes in Howland Township (Contract B bid at $534,450), changes to Dana Street and Paige Avenue in Warren (Contract C bid at $988,049), and the Larchmont spot (Contract A). The county, township and city are adding about $664,000 of local money.
Officials say if things stay on track that drivers and workers in the 687-acre Golden Triangle should see some changes by late 2026 and into early 2027. The area is a V-shaped group of old factories and warehouses that sits between Warren and Howland Township.
Roads will get wider for safer turns by big trucks. Intersections will have bigger curves to help trucks move easier. Better drains will stop flooding that hits eight of the area’s 12 main businesses during periods of heavy rain.
“By then, it will be much easier to get in and out,” said Michael Keys, Warren’s economic development director. “No more trucks lined up on Dietz Road or stuck at that no-left-turn sign on Larchmont. People living nearby will have less traffic cutting through their streets. The whole place will look and feel newer, with better signs and lights.”
The Golden Triangle got its name from its triangle shape bordered by Larchmont Avenue, Dietz Road and a Norfolk Southern rail line. It is the area’s second-biggest spot for industry. More than 30 businesses operate there, from old-timers like Phoenix Tool Works, which opened in 1919, to steelmakers such as Wheatland Tube. They employ more than 2,000 people and their taxes help pay for city services.
The move toward upgrades started in 2014. Howland Township leaders heard from truck drivers who could not reach factories easily. Narrow roads and old, leaky waterlines made things worse.
“It was unsafe with big trucks blocking views, floods turning parking lots into lakes,” Shaffer said. “We had to keep those jobs. Without fixes, companies could not grow and that would hurt our taxes.”
Leaders from the township, Warren, the Trumbull County commissioners and the engineer’s office joined forces to find solutions.
In September 2014, they won a $37,750 EDA planning grant, matched by $38,134 from local funds. Experts from AECOM checked the area, talked to business owners and listed $10.7 million in fixes. Top needs included a $1.7 million pond and wetland to hold stormwater north of Dietz Road and $1.46 million to reopen a rail track for Wheatland Tube.
The group started a Golden Triangle Business Advisory Group. They met monthly for lunch. Managers from places like Prime Metals, Liberty Steel Products and Flex-Strut shared employment counts, growth ideas and problems like power cuts and poor signage.
“They did not just talk to us; they started working together,” said Julie Green, senior planner for the Trumbull County Planning Commission.
She handles the grant process.
“One empty lot went from holding dirt piles to part of a $60 million factory upgrade at Prime Metals, all because we fixed the roads and pipes first,” Green said,
Step by step, wins began to stack up.
A $215,724 grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission resurfaced Commonwealth Avenue in 2016 cutting truck jams. In 2018, $900,000 from state and local money rebuilt Dietz Road’s waterline. That let Flex-Strut double the size of its building.
Cleanups cleared polluted land. State and federal money from ODOT and ARC fixed Phoenix and North River roads by 2020.
“This teamwork is normal now,” Keys said. “Mayors, township leaders and engineers pull in the same direction. We let Julie handle grants, Gary do roads, and Kim Mascarella from Howland set up business talks.”
The 2022 EDA building grant was their second win from the agency. It turned early plans into $3.4 million in federal money, plus $1.3 million from the state and $1.2 million local. County records show $89,800 went to land buys. Expansions added up too, like Wheatland growing its space and Liberty Steel building new offices.
The latest work should finish by mid-2027. It will check off all 10 big goals from the plan except maybe tweaking the rail crossing. Shaffer called that “a tough one that keeps coming back” because the railroad company has the final say.
“Trains do not move easy, so we work around them,” he said.
For Keys, the win is in the jobs. More than 1,600 people work at main factories making up 80% of the area’s total and Keys said they help keep Warren’s budget strong for services.
By late 2026, there will be fewer roadblocks from work. But Keys said to expect some short-term hassles leading to long-term gains. He added that construction signs will say it best: “Temporary trouble for lasting fixes.” Truck drivers will wait less. Neighbors will hear fewer engines roaring through side streets.
Long-term leaders see the Golden Triangle becoming a hub. Officials say It will pull in new companies with easy Interstate 80 access and strong setups against floods.
“We’ve had calls from businesses checking out spots because they see us getting things done,” Keys said.
Green links it to bigger county growth, like the Kimberly-Clark project and team-ups with the Western Reserve Port Authority and Eastgate Regional Council of Governments.
“This keeps good-paying factory jobs going. Ohio’s a key spot for metal making and helps companies grow,” she said.
In an area full of old plans that went nowhere, the Golden Triangle shows what teamwork can do.
“It turns our small money into big federal help, holds onto 2,000 jobs, and makes more,” Keys said. “When people complain about construction cones, tell them this is how we build a stronger future.”
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