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Orange barrels will soon appear on a three-quarter-mile stretch of Ohio Route 59/East Main Street that runs through 91��ý����’s Front Campus, marking the start of a three-year construction project to make the thoroughfare safer and more attractive.

The $25.5 million rehabilitation project is a joint effort between 91��ý����, the city of Kent, the Portage Regional Transit Authority (PARTA), the Ohio Department of Transportation, the Akron Metropolitan Area Transportation Study (AMATS) and the project’s Citizen Advisory Committee.

Two-way traffic, with a center turn lane, will be maintained on East Main at all times for the duration of the work, Jeffrey Bittenbender, a landscape architect from the Office of the University Architect who is serving as 91��ý����’s project manager for the construction, told 91��ý���� Today.

The work will make East Main Street safer for pedestrians, cyclists and drivers, while creating a continuous park-like corridor along the entire northern edge of the Kent Campus. The project will add two roundabouts on East Main – one at the intersection of Horning Road and another farther west at Willow Street.

Bittenbender said the roundabouts are an effort to create safer intersections and improve overall safety and efficiency of the corridor.

“Overwhelmingly, roundabouts have shown to be substantially safer with fewer accidents with vehicles and pedestrians, which was the impetus for this,” he said. “Safer and more visible pedestrian crossings, reduced lane widths and an enhanced tree-lined median are proven methods being implemented on the project to enhance pedestrian safety.”

Work will begin between Luther Avenue and Horning Road in mid-to-late August and continue through 2026, after which construction will progress into its second phase further west along Main from Willow Street to Luther Avenue during 2027-28, said Jon Giaquinto, senior engineer for the city of Kent’s Division of Engineering. All work is expected to be concluded by the end of 2028, he said.

“We’re trying to improve the pedestrian experience for those trying to cross Main Street,” Giaquinto said.

Bittenbender noted that the project is one of the key components of 91��ý����’s Gateway Master Plan, which focuses on adding green spaces to the Kent Campus and seeks to enhance the northern gateway into campus to create a welcoming arrival for visitors.

Key details about the construction project:

• The first orange barrels will appear in mid-to-late August. Kenmore Construction was awarded the contract for the project.
• Most of the work on Kent Campus property will take place during summer months when the university’s population is low to cause the least amount of inconvenience for students, faculty, staff and visitors.
• A tree-lined boulevard will be added along the length of the East Main Street section.
• Traffic lights will remain on East Main Street at the intersections of Lincoln Street, Luther Avenue and Midway Drive between the two roundabouts.
• Bus stops/pull-offs will be improved and relocated slightly for optimal positioning along the new boulevard; new bus stop shelters and decorative street lighting will be installed.
• In a separate project currently being designed, electric vehicle (EV) charging stations will be installed in four university parking lots adjacent to East Main.
• 91��ý����’s Homecoming Parade, which takes place along this section of East Main Street, is expected to be rerouted to a yet-to-be-determined location during the construction.

The project will change the look of East Main Street. Horning Road will be realigned through what had been the marching band’s practice field just east of the Performing Arts Center, so that Horning will align with Overlook Drive on the north side of Main Street, Bittebender said.

The work at Horning Road will be extensive; the University Newman Center, the Kent United Church of Christ, and 91��ý����’s Administration Services Building will have their entryways realigned as part of the project, Giaquinto noted.

While East Main Street will remain open to two-way traffic at all times, some of the side streets could see intermittent closures and detours, he added.

The second roundabout will be located at Main and Willow Street in downtown Kent. That move will involve tearing down what is known as the Cutler Building, a former university-owned property that most recently housed university surplus sales and previously was home to the city of Kent Health Department, Giaquinto said.

That roundabout will be a five-way circle connecting east- and west-bound East Main Street, north- and south-bound South Willow Street and Haymaker Parkway.

Between the two roundabouts, East Main Street will gain a continuous boulevard, with dedicated crosswalks at various points that will be more visible and safer than they are now. As the landscaping grows, the section will become a more lush, green, tree-lined boulevard.

The goal is to slow down traffic by creating an environment in which approaching drivers will sense that they need to slow down and acknowledge the pedestrians, Bittenbender said.

“One of the top priorities for this project continues to be turning East Main Street into a boulevard between the two roundabouts,” Bittenbender said. “In combination with our improved high visibility mid-block crossings, it will dramatically improve the experience and sense of place, benefiting our students, staff, faculty and guests.”

The East Main Street project is similar to improvements made to Summit Street on the Kent Campus, which included a tree-lined boulevard and two roundabouts to reduce traffic congestion on that highly traveled stretch of road. Since the project was completed in 2018, safety data shows that the number of crashes on Summit Street decreased by 59%.

The East Main Street project will include a new, 10-foot-wide paved path along the south side of East Main, running from the campus Gateway Arch to Horning Road, to be shared by pedestrians and cyclists.

Bittenbender said the improvements and beautification of the East Main Street entry onto campus were included in part of the university’s 2018 Gateway Master Plan, aimed at creating a more park-like feel on the Front Campus.

The space in front of White Hall will be used as a construction staging area for the duration of the project (as it had been for the construction of Crawford Hall). Once construction is over, that space will become an extension of the recently completed first phase of the north lawn, he said.

Along with the new Crawford Hall and improvements from the Terrace Drive realignment, all the components will come together “to create a continuous green from the Gateway Arch to Horning Road,” Bittenbender said.

“The University Architect’s Office went to great lengths, as part of this project, to protect the existing tree canopy along Front Campus, as well as substantially increase the total number of trees in this area of the campus and, over time, increase the amount of green space to help further the park-like feel,” he said.

Renderings courtesy of city of Kent.