East Main Street Project

The City of Kent along with its partners - the project's Citizen Advisory Committee (CAC), Kent State University, PARTA (Portage Area Regional Transport Authority), AMATS (Akron Metropolitan Area Transportation Study) and ODOT (Ohio Department of Transportation) - are undertaking a $25.5 million rehabilitation of a three-quarter mile portion of East Main Street.

The project focuses on East Main, between Willow Street and Horning Road intersections, along with neighborhoods to the north and KSU to the south.

PROJECT UPDATES

The most recent updates are listed below. View the archive of all updates here

Aug. 10, 2026

Weather permitting, paving of the final asphalt surface on Horning Rd. is scheduled to begin the week of Aug. 10. The paving will go from the city limits to south of East Main St. Message boards will be posted in the area and there may be some intermittent delays during this time. Other work expected on Horning Rd. is the continued installation of sidewalk so that the road can open before classes resume at Kent State later this month.

On Midway Dr. the contractor will be paving and continuing the installation of sidewalk with the goal of reopening Midway before the fall semester begins. The existing traffic signal will be put back into its regular mode and the westbound left turn lane will be back in service.

On East Main Street, the contractor will continue paving the future eastbound lanes between Horning and Midway. This will reconnect Midway to East Main St. again so it can be reopened.

Questions about the East Main Street project can be directed to Jon Giaquinto in the City Engineering Division at Jon.Giaquinto@KentOhio.gov or 330-678-8106. You can also send your email address to Giaquinto if you would like to receive email updates.

July 30, 2026

Driving through the work area, you may have noticed that the contractor is building a new, wide sidewalk along the south side of East Main St. This will connect to the existing walk on Horning Rd. in front of the Kent State University Administrative Services Building. In the past, there was no sidewalk along the front of the Newman Center, which created a gap between East Main St. and Horning Rd. In future phases of this project, the wide sidewalk will extend to the west and connect into the existing walk on Haymaker Parkway near South Willow St.

Once the East Main St. project is completed there will be a connection from the existing bike lanes on Horning Rd. to the Freedom Trail. The wide sidewalk on East Main St. will also be extended to the east along the south side of East Main Street/SR 59 to SR 261 with another project that is currently in design.

The electrical contractor is building the new traffic signal at East Main St. and Luther Ave. The new traffic signal cabinet is in place and traffic signal poles should be installed soon.

For those who travel regularly through the construction area, you have probably noticed that street grading between Midway Dr. and the drive to the old White Hall parking lot has stopped. This is due to an existing watermain that was found and needs to be relocated and lowered. Once that has been done, the contractor can resume pouring the concrete curb and eventually paving the new lanes.

If you’re traveling in the construction area, please remember to slow down, pay attention to the posted signs, and use caution.

June 25, 2026

As crews continue to work on the East Main St. project, part of Horning Rd. has reopened. The road is now accessible from the Loop Rd. side, with motorists able to get to the driveways on Horning. This includes the Newman Center and one of the back drives of the Kent United Church of Christ. Use caution when accessing the driveways as asphalt work continues in this area.

Horning Rd. remains closed at Theater Dr. and Midway Dr. remains closed between East Main St. and Terrace Dr.

If you’re traveling in the construction area, please remember to slow down, pay attention to the posted signs, and use caution.

Goals of the Project

The goal is to provide an aesthetically pleasing, stately, less cluttered stress-free gateway into Kent that meets the current demands of East Main Street's users.

Working with the East Main Street Citizen's Advisory Committee, the project team established these goals:

Jointly improve safety and aesthetics for all users
Balance vehicular congestion with improvements to other modes of transportation
Enhance adjacent neighborhoods
Integrate with Kent State University's Gateway Master Plan
Provide reasonable access to adjacent properties and side streets

Project Timing

Road design for the East Main Street project was completed in early 2025. A contractor has been awarded, and construction should begin in late summer/early fall 2025. Construction is estimated to last three years, with traffic being maintained for the duration.

Public Comments

A public comment period was held in 2021 for the planning phase of the East Main Street project. Download a summary of the comments for your review. Future questions or comments can be sent to Jon Giaquinto in the City Engineering Division at Jon.Giaquinto@KentOhio.gov or 330-678-8106.

If you would like to receive email updates on the project, please send your email address to Giaquinto at Jon.Giaquinto@KentOhio.gov.

East Main Street's History

East Main Street is one of the oldest streets in the city. It has gone through several major changes throughout Kent’s history. On maps from 1874, East Main Street was a rural roadway that provided connections to Ravenna with large tracts of land adjacent to the corridor. In images from 1919, East Main Street shows the beginnings of a modern street with sidewalks lining both sides, large stately homes with generous lawns lining the north side and Kent Normal College with a large park like setting on the south side.

Currently, East Main Street is a hectic five lane road with automobile-oriented commercial establishments along most of the northern side and KSU along the southern side. Multi-modal accommodations are limited along the corridor, as it is dominated by vehicular traffic. However, there are significant pedestrian, bicycle and transit demands along the corridor.

Proposed Improvements

The proposed improvements to East Main Street from Willow Street to Horning Road include:

An expanded tree-lined center boulevard with fewer left turns
Wider sidewalks and tree lawn on north side of the street
Enhanced and higher visibility crosswalks for pedestrians and bikes
Decorative streetlights added along the length of the roadway
Shared path for bikes and pedestrians created on the south side of the street
Two roundabouts added; one at the intersection of South Willow St., East Main St. and Haymaker Parkway, and the other at the Horning Road intersection
New bus pull-offs and shelters installed along the corridor
Electric Vehicle (EV) charging stations for public use; installed in four Kent State parking lots along the north side of campus adjacent to East Main Street.

Enhanced Safety

The East Main Street Improvement Project is similar to the large-scale improvements made to Summit Street. That project, completed in 2018, included a tree-lined boulevard with two roundabouts designed to reduce traffic congestion and crashes in the highly traveled stretch of road.

Data shows that the number of crashes on Summit Street has decreased significantly over the last six years. Specifically, since the project was completed, there has been a:

59% reduction in the overall crash rate
33% reduction in overall pedestrian crash rate
100% reduction in the injury crash rate and a 50% reduction in the overall crash rate at the Ted Boyd roundabout
84% reduction in the injury crash rate and 73% reduction in overall crash rate at the West Campus Center roundabout
53% reduction in pedestrian crash rate at the Ted Boyd and West Campus Center roundabouts

Renderings and Study Information

Area Map	Area map with roundabouts	Mid-Block Crosswalks	Roundabout Benefits	Views by Segment
Decision Matrix	Neighborhood Improvements	Traffic Capacity Analysis	Bike Master Plan	Environmental Resources

RAISE Resources

The City of Kent, in partnership with Kent State University and the Portage Area Regional Transit Authority, has received a $5.25 million RAISE grant for the Reimagining the Gateway East Main Street Corridor project.

Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) is part of the federal government’s investment in infrastructure across the United States. The East Main Street project was one of 162 programs to receive funding.

Reimagining the Gateway will make significant multi-modal improvements to a nearly one-mile, car-centric section of East Main Street that includes the university, entrances to nearby neighborhoods and many commercial destinations.

Part of the RAISE grant funds will be used to install electric vehicle (EV) charging stations for public use. The stations will be located in four Kent State parking lots on the north side of campus adjacent to East Main Street.

In announcing the award, the U.S. Transportation Department noted that project is strong in safety, environmental sustainability, quality of life, mobility and community connectivity, economic competitiveness and opportunity, state of good repair, and partnership and collaboration.

Letters of support for the grant application came from various federal, state and local officials, including U.S. Senators Sherrod Brown and J.D. Vance of Ohio, Congressman David Joyce, Kent State President Todd Diacon, Portage County Commissioners, the Portage County Engineer, and the Ohio Department of Transportation.