EAST LIVERPOOL, Ohio (WKBN) – A road in East Liverpool will be under construction after the city received a federal grant from the Ohio Department of Transportation for the work.

Dresden Avenue will be under construction soon. ODOT gave the city a $1.5 million grant through its Small City Program. The repairs will stretch 1.2 miles north of 8th Street to the city line.

“This is definitely well needed. This road has not been paid within, under 20 years ago, and the structural integrity of it is totally shot,” said David Dawson, East Liverpool’s safety service director.

Dawson says Dresden Avenue is being repaired in two phases. In 2020, ODOT gave the city almost $500,000 to repair the road from 6th Street to 8th Street. East Liverpool Mayor Greg Bricker says work will start in the next two weeks.

“There’s a lot of things happening on Dresden right now, so we want to upgrade it that way. You know, it’s one of our entrances to the city,” Bricker said.

The work coming to Dresden Avenue is one of several projects helping to improve roads around East Liverpool. The Elizabeth Street bridge reopened last October. Storm lines on St. Clair Avenue are getting repaired from North Street to Minerva Street. Route 11 now has fresh pavement and new LED highway lights.

Bricker says ODOT has provided around $20 million for road repairs in the last four years, and the projects are a good, long-term fix.

“Construction is never pleasant as short-term pain for long-term progress because, you know, it’s certainly needed,” Bricker said.

Dawson says Dresden Avenue will still be open during construction.

“We have a lot of work going on in the city to try to fix a lot of things that need to be done. We’re just going to keep moving forward while we’re here to finish everything we can,” Dawson said.

Phase one of the Dresden Avenue construction is set to be done in November. Phase two will start in 2027.