ST. CLAIRSVILLE — The city of St. Clairsville received a $500,000 grant from the Ohio Department of Transportation through its 2024 Local Roads Oil and Shale Program.

This grant is intended to provide the municipality with the necessary funds to repair roads that have been impacted by the oil and gas industry. The funds can be used to repair Thompson Drive in St. Clairsville. The city also received $500,000 from the same ODOT program in 2023 that can be used toward repairs to North Sugar Street.

The repair and maintenance of roadways is imperative, according to a release from the city, as there has been extensive damage due to heavy trucks related to the oil and gas industry.

Thompson Drive, a major conduit for all types of vehicles, is one road that has been heavily damaged.

“The road’s location along Interstate 70 and its easy access to many of the oil and gas well pads located south of St. Clairsville have led to the deterioration of the road’s condition,” the release states. “It is, therefore, crucial to address the matter by allocating the grant funds to repair Thompson Drive, which serves a critical role in the community’s transportation network.”

The goals for improvement of Thompson Drive are full-depth repairs, curbs, catch basins and culverts.

The full-depth repairs and other proposed work will enhance the long-term durability of the infrastructure. If the budget allows, the city intends to replace the existing municipal utilities, including a new gravity sewer line, force main sewer line, waterline and a rebuild of the electric system.

This will mitigate the necessity to excavate the new road for replacements. The project should be initiated in 2027.

Tom Murphy, Planning and Zoning administrator, thanked all those involved for their effort and dedication to ensure the grant application was a success for not only 2024 but also 2023.

“This is a total of $1,000,000 that the city did not have available prior to these successful applications,” Murphy said in the release. “This accomplishment is a testament to our team’s unwavering commitment to advancing our goals and objectives. We remain steadfast in our pursuit of continued growth, development, and progress within our community, and we look forward to sharing more positive updates in the future.”

According to ODOT, the Local Roads Oil and Shale Program provides economic support for infrastructure repairs in counties, townships, cities and villages impacted by increased vehicular truck traffic from oil and gas production. It serves Carroll, Columbiana, Noble, Belmont, Monroe, Jefferson, Harrison and Guernsey counties, providing funds for roads not covered by a road use and maintenance agreement. The program is funded at $2.5 million annually, with a $500,000 per project limit.

Other local projects to receive funds include:

Jefferson County Engineer joint project with the city of Steubenville on County Road 26, Coal Hill Road, $500,000

Harrison County Engineer, County Road 24, Mays School Road, $487,860

Monroe County Engineer, County Road 48, $500,000

Green Township, Harrison County, Rabbit Road, $35,500 for design, $352,400 for construction

Steubenville Township, Jefferson County, Township Road 501, Tarrs Hill Road intersection improvement/pavement rehabilitation, $48,000 for design, $345,720 for construction.