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Crafton wins near‑full grant for Broadhead sewer separation; council approves full‑width paving on Duncan Avenue
Summary
Council heard low bids for the Broadhead sewer separation project that, with alternates, can be covered almost entirely by grant awards; separate C20 separation work will begin this month and council approved paying $17,250 to repave Duncan Avenue curb‑to‑curb and $15,000 to repair large Crafton Boulevard patches.
Crafton Borough Council on Thursday heard engineers and staff describe a multi‑street sewer‑separation package that returned competitively low bids and can be carried out with essentially all grant funding, and the council approved short‑term change orders to repave local streets affected by ongoing utility work.
The Broadhead Sewer Separation Project returned a low base bid of $5,582,000 for the work listed on the bid documents; adding alternates raises the contractor price to about $6,150,000 and the total project cost including engineering to roughly $6,790,000. Gateway Engineers and borough staff reported the borough has secured approximately $6,787,480 in grant awards, leaving an estimated out‑of‑pocket cost to the borough of about $1,000 on the current bid package.
Why it matters: the separation work installs new storm piping and drainage to remove stormwater from the combined sewer system, reducing overflows and improving street drainage; the contractor schedule would be about 14 months from start if the council accepts the bid.
Staff and the borough engineer walked council through what the base bid and alternates cover. Warren Street and several other segments require full reconstruction because of low curbs and underlying conditions, while other streets will receive mill‑and‑overlay or trench restoration. Director of Public Works and the borough engineer said the bid results create capacity to add alternates such as full sidewalks on Belvedere and additional sidewalk work on Warren without drawing on tax dollars.
Separately, the smaller Perrine (Pareen) Street separation — a project to remove four combined sewer outlets and run a new storm line into an existing downstream watercourse — carries a construction estimate of about $418,000 plus roughly $42,000 of engineering already spent. Borough staff said easement work and owner permissions mean the total local project cost could reach about $468,000; the borough has set aside approximately $280,000 and expects a remaining borrowing need of roughly $188,000 to complete Perrine.
Council also heard a staff update on the C20 separation project, which will begin work on South Linden Avenue the week of June 10 with short, staged road closures and is scheduled to finish trenching and mill‑and‑pave work by mid‑June for some segments; the larger C20 work is expected to reach overall completion in November. Director Tedesco told council that PA American Water will pay for the asphalt restoration over its lateral repairs, and the borough can use that contribution to fund full‑width paving on Duncan Avenue.
Public comments tied to the utility work urged full‑width paving on Duncan between Steuben and Maxwell and flagged damaged curbing and protruding inlet frames where the contractor installed new inlets at the Steuben intersection. Residents said those inlets sit several inches high and could create tripping hazards or vehicle damage.
Council action: council voted to authorize Tedesco’s proposed change order to pave Duncan curb to curb at an estimated borough cost of $17,250 (PA American Water covers repairs to the narrower trench footprint). The motion passed on a voice vote. Council then approved an additional $15,000 of paving/large‑patch work on Crafton Boulevard tied to the contractor’s mobilization to perform other nearby work; that vote also passed on a voice vote.
What council said: Engineer Bright said the low bids “allow us to add all of the alternates” and keep local taxpayer exposure minimal. Council members and residents emphasized traffic impacts during construction and asked staff to schedule night work where possible to shorten closures.
Next steps: staff recommended bringing a formal acceptance of the Broadhead low bid onto a future agenda after final grant accounting; Perrine work requires a city of Pittsburgh resolution for an easement where the new pipe crosses city property, and staff asked council for a head‑nod to keep pursuing required permissions and eminent‑domain steps if necessary.
Sources and provenance: presentation and bid figures were provided during the engineer’s briefing (Crafton Borough Council meeting, June 12, 2025); residents and staff discussed Duncan and Perrine during public comment and the engineer’s project update.
