FAIRLAWN, Ohio — The City of Fairlawn is continuing its mission to make its busiest roadway as safe as possible.
The city recently received a $21 million grant from the federal Safe Streets and Roads For All grant program. The money will allow the city to implement many of the changes it was studying when it received another federal grant for $334,000 in November 2025.
RELATED: City of Fairlawn set to begin year-long study on State Route 18 corridor
The latest grant is expected to fund numerous safety improvements, such as improved pedestrian crosswalks and bus pull-off areas.
The city may also place barriers to prevent left-hand turns at certain intersections.
Like many cities and counties, Fairlawn is looking to add a few roundabouts along the corridor.
The city's Director of Public Service, Ernie Staten, knows these changes can be overwhelming, but he said these changes have been in the works for a while.
"Now we actually have the ability to go in and do a lot of this work," he said. "Hopefully, we team up with the surrounding communities and ODOT to have a really successful project of what we are trying to do here."
There's still some time before the changes come to the Route 18 corridor. Staten said the project will span over the next five years.
The first phase is planning, and the city hopes to start this phase this spring by talking with area businesses and community members.
That phase should last a year.
Then, the project will spend two years in the design phase. Construction is expected to last another two years.
