By:Briona Arradondo
April 14, 2013

ST. CLAIRSVILLE, Ohio —
Residents may see major construction in St. Clairsville near the Ohio Valley Mall by the end of the year. Belmont County commissioners said they are working with the Ohio Department of Transportation to build a ramp to expand access to the mall. It would also give incentive for more businesses to come in. Commissioner Matt Coffland said they will meet with the Transportation Improvement District, ODOT and developers interested in the mall area on Tuesday in New Philadelphia.

"I will have Cafaro Company there with us to show them what developments they have in the future west of the mall. So, there's a lot of things going on in Belmont County," said Coffland.

The layout of the ramp would start east on National Road by the All For Fun miniature golf course then go through the field behind Lowe's, cross over Interstate 70 and run parallel to Mall Road to circle around the mall property. Commissioners said they have about $7 million in earmarks for transportation set aside to start.

"We just need ODOT's approval and federal highways to move this project (forward)," said Coffland. "This opens up 200 to 300 acres for retail development. Plus, with all the growth in our county, we need the additional retail, and we feel that can support more restaurants, more retail."

It's a plan commissioners said they've been working on for several years, but it's finally ready to become a reality.

Workers are finishing traffic studies, and commissioners said they hope to have those results this week.