Pottstown to proceed with urgent repairs to Norfolk Southern bridges; borough share covered from capital savings
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Summary
Borough manager told council the Evans and Franklin Street bridges over Norfolk Southern require priority repairs. A revised design reduced the project cost to $1,000,000; the borough's 40% share (approximately $400,000) will come from the capital savings plan, and staff will move forward with PUC filings and contract work.
Pottstown Borough Manager Mr. Keller told the Committee of the Whole on Nov. 5 that the Evans and Franklin Street bridges over Norfolk Southern require "priority 1 repairs" and that work could begin as early as December.
"The revised design has reduced the overall project cost by approximately one third, and Norfolk Southern has awarded a contract at a value of $1,000,000," Mr. Keller said. He added that the borough's share under a PUC finding is 40%, or approximately $400,000, and staff is prepared to proceed using funds already reserved in the borough's capital savings plan.
Keller said the initial scope had included replacing concrete sidewalks to access structural webbing, but engineers developed an alternative that preserves pedestrian circulation by narrowing vehicle travel lanes and using curb-mounted delineators to separate pedestrian routes. "The pedestrian routes will essentially be directed off the existing ADA curb ramps onto the roadway shoulders," he said.
The manager told council the change in scope reduced the contract from an initial estimate of about $1,500,000 to the awarded $1,000,000 figure and that staff will continue to seek additional savings with the traffic engineer and Norfolk Southern. He said the funding originally reserved for a separate Washington Street bridge replacement is now fully funded via federal and state sources through the Transportation Improvement Program, which frees capital to be reallocated to the Norfolk Southern bridge repairs.
Keller also briefed council on related transportation work: a traffic study for the Robinson and Shoemaker intersections to assess whether increased development and truck traffic now meet PennDOT warrants for a signal, pedestrian improvements linked to any intersection upgrades, recent downtown parking-lot paving and drainage corrections, and an RFP for the borough engineer due Nov. 7.
Staff will file required PUC paperwork and proceed under the conditions described. No formal final authorization vote was recorded in the Nov. 5 meeting; council will see related items on the upcoming Monday agenda for formal action if required.
