A smaller list of highway projects planned in the city of Akron this year according to the city's traffic construction manager Jim Weber. "Unfortunately a lot of that's due to a lack of federal funding. We have projects we'd like to do . We have plans done," Weber tells AkronNewsNow.

Weber says they have several road projects ready to go but they'll have to wait until next year or even later due to the funding reductions.

Among the projects due for construction this summer is the improvement of Wilbeth Road. " From Dallas Avenue which is just east of South Main Street to Firestone Parkway, we're going to put all new pavement in, new curbs, new sidewalks, new street lights. That's going to be all new," says Jim Weber. Weber says that portion of Wilbeth Road will have to be closed for about a month for construction. Detours will be post when the project begins.

East Market Street will also see improvements. " On East Market Street between Route 8 and Arlington Street it's a signalization project. And if you've noticed throughout the city we've been doing a lot of these signalization projects where we'll putting in new signals, and you'll see cameras going up with the signals. All of this is tied in through a fiber optic network back to our traffic control center where we can monitor the traffic, and make adjustments as neccessary ," says Weber.

The Thornton Street bridge near the Akron Post Office will be getting a new surface. That will mean closing the bridge for about three months. the project will begin right after spring graduation at the University of Akron according to Jim Weber. Their goal is to have the bridge re-opened by the time classes start in the fall.