Crafton Borough Council on Aug. 28 received progress reports on several ongoing sewer-separation projects and approved an ordinance that would allow the borough to seek a court order to acquire an easement needed for the Perrine Street sewer connection.

The council’s engineering team reported that construction on a sewer separation segment along the gravel access road off Crafton Boulevard is underway and that crews may add teams to speed work. Engineer Dean said the contractor “is thinking about bringing on additional crews” and that the project closure affecting a nearby trail “may be done as early as next week.”

The council also considered an ordinance to permit eminent-domain proceedings for a small easement needed to build a Perrine Street outfall. Engineer Dean described the ordinance as “a very simple ordinance. It's essentially giving us permission to, allow Steve to go at the court with the eminent domain, question,” and said the borough has tried to negotiate with the property owner but “they were dragging their feet.” The ordinance passed on a voice vote; the council recorded the motion as approved with the result “Motion passes.”

Dean said the immediate legal step after council approval is to wait for a corresponding resolution from the City of Pittsburgh because the outfall would cross a parcel the city owns. Once the city resolution is in hand, the solicitor would file the borough’s court pleading; property owners would then have 30 days to file preliminary objections, after which the borough would proceed and later litigate just compensation if necessary.

Council also heard that the larger Broadhead sewer-separation project will affect paving and other street work. Dean said the contractor may bring multiple crews “scattered throughout the project,” which could change the schedule for which streets receive paving this year and which are pushed to next year. He noted the borough prioritized some streets for 2025 but said “only some of these streets will be paved this year” and that most will likely be completed next year.

Council members emphasized the need to notify the public about closures and detours and to document construction progress; one member requested periodic photos of open-cut work so residents could see how borough funds are being spent.

The council also received updates on related projects: replacement of a DPW building concrete floor and site utilities with an expected completion date in November; ongoing work on the Steuben–Linden intersection ADA ramp pending PennDOT authorizations; and a planned closure window for C20 sewer separation with an expected completion of Nov. 12. For the Steuben–Duncan corner the engineer said crews will rebuild the ADA ramp and alter asphalt to improve drainage.

What’s next: the solicitor will file materials for eminent-domain proceedings once the city passes its resolution. The engineer and manager said they will continue to brief council and the public on scheduling, detours and paving sequencing as they learn more about crew deployments and contractor timelines.