Contractor Won’t Commit to Dates for Paving Jacob Street
PennDOT officials met with contractors and engineers yesterday at their large conference room at the District 10 office in Indiana to discuss the start of Kittanning’s Jacob Street project.
from the KP NewsDesk
The Notice to Proceed was given yesterday to begin the Jacob Street repaving project, but contractors could not give an actual date when they intend to start.
Kittanning Borough Council has worked with Senate Engineering for the past 18 months to plan the project. Funding was procured with state monies from the Keystone Communities Grant and the Transportation Alternatives Program.
PennDOT received bids for the project on Thursday, July 2. Three bids were submitted and the lowest bid was from Russell Standard at $334,750. The Council met on Tuesday, July 14 and awarded the bid.
Yesterday, PennDOT and the contractor got together with designers and planners in the PennDOT District 10 office in Indiana to discuss the implementation of the contract.
Russell Standard Project Engineer John Jordan would not commit to a time frame when the paving would actually begin, but said he anticipates it to take less than a week. He told PennDOT that the reason he could not commit to a date is because he is waiting on Balano Construction to give him dates as to when the ADA ramps and curbs on each corner of Jacob, Jefferson, and McKean could be completed prior to paving.
Jordan discussed considering an extension to the time to complete the project, stating that all of his projects are backlogged due to the wet weather conditions of early summer. PennDOT denied his request. Russell Standard has until September 22, 2015 to fully complete the project or face penalties for every day the project is not completed.
Kittanning Borough Councilman David Croyle was the only member of council to attend the meeting. He became concerned when there was discussion of shutting down access to the alleys while the project was in progress. He cited businesses such as Nolte Motors and Armstrong Distributing that both utilize the allies for their business. He also said that Jeff Bowser of Bugsy’s Pizza had concerns since his business sits on the corner of where reconstruction of ADA ramps will occur.
The contractor assured Croyle that his firm would contact Senate Engineering as well as meet with local businesses to address their concerns. Croyle also wanted advance notice of road closures so it can be announced in local media and wanted signage to indicate to the public how to navigate around the construction.
Senate Engineer Bill Braun said he would personally work between the Borough and the contractors to make sure Croyle’s concerns were addressed.
As part of the project, a 12-foot hole will be excavated to fix the “sink hole” problem in the 100-block of Jacob Street prior to paving. Croyle explained the impact the sink hole has had to motorists to the point of damaging vehicles. Jordan volunteered to temporarily patch the hole until the project could commence as a good-faith gesture. Braun also told Croyle he will notify him when the hole is excavated so he can personally inspect the damage.
Jordan assured PennDOT that his company would be completed by the September 22 deadline.
Local News, Kittanning Borough | KP NewsDesk August 18, 2015
By Patzu, August 18, 2015 @ 12:16 PM
Kittanning Boro gets a nice social and economic boost by keeping the YMCA in their municipality, but it seems that maintaining surrounding streets went to the wayside after the YMCA was built.
Has anybody traveled on North Water Street with “dips” in the road comparable to The Jackrabbit roller coaster at Kennywood!
It is worse than pocket of potholes; the road is buckling.
The Mariner should pose this issue with council.
I have given up trying to drive in that road.
By jorn jensen, August 19, 2015 @ 8:09 AM
These contractors need to include some overtime in their quotes/contracts, so that when they have to sit indoors in the rainy season, they can work some overtime in the hot/dry season, and still get the work done in a timely fashion. They have daylight from about 6 AM to 8/9 PM - that’s a little more than 8 hours of daylight straight-time.