Narberth Avenue railroad bridge clears two approvals; utility sign-off remains with PennDOT

At the Narberth Borough Infrastructure Committee meeting on Jan. 28, 2025, borrower engineer Jesse said the Narberth Avenue railroad-bridge project has received constructability approval and the required PennDOT railroad certification, but a final utility clearance remains with PennDOT’s central office.

The clearance is the last outstanding item before the borough can upload bid documents and advertise the project. “Once we get the utility clearance back from PennDOT, we’ve been given approval to start uploading documents and get this thing ready to be advertised,” Jesse said. He told the committee the borough is aiming to have documents in PennDOT’s hands in March and that advertisement is more likely in early to mid-April after PennDOT’s internal review.

Why this matters: advertising the project begins the formal contractor-selection process; bids typically remain open several weeks and Amtrak’s scheduling can delay the start of heavy construction. Jesse said bids usually stay open five to seven weeks and that a review period follows receipt of bids. Even after a contractor is selected, he said, Amtrak scheduling and seasonal constraints will probably cause a several-month lag before major construction begins.

Committee members pressed for details about the utility clearance process. Jesse said PennDOT is comparing submitted utility forms and the project plans to ensure all contacts and required utility work are identified so the contractor has coordinated information when construction begins. He characterized likely PennDOT comments as “minor” but said the borough will not know until the clearance is returned.

On Amtrak coordination, Jesse said Amtrak and PennDOT have told the borough that Amtrak typically assigns a project a place in its queue only after the project is formally let. He said Amtrak and PennDOT are supporting two projects concurrently on the Harrisburg line and that those projects’ schedules should not unduly delay the Narberth work, though seasonal restrictions could affect timing.

The committee discussed public outreach. Jesse said staff would work with borough officials to prepare newsletter updates and that the project team can host a public meeting explaining the anticipated construction sequence and impacts once a contractor is selected.

The committee will report further schedule updates when the PennDOT utility clearance is received and when an advertisement date is set.