Tarentum council authorizes bids to repair Hill Street after water main failure

Tarentum Borough Council voted to solicit bids for repairs after a Section of Hill Street was undermined by a catastrophic failure of an aging water main.

Borough manager Dwight Bottom told council the engineers’ preliminary estimate to correct the roadway and underlying water-line damage is about $135,000. “At this point, the engineers estimate that it’s going to be about $135,000 to correct the issue,” Bottom said. The roadway remains closed for safety; officials said it is unsafe for vehicles heavier than a bicycle or motorcycle.

Council members discussed options including full repair and repaving, leaving the road closed, converting it to an unpaved pass-through, or pursuing a formal road vacation (the latter requires legal process). Managers also noted some work—excavation or other preparatory tasks—might be performed in-house to reduce contractor costs. County permission will be required for work affecting portions of Bakerstown Road, officials said.

Finance and public-works discussion placed the repair in the context of a longer-term water-line replacement plan. Borough staff said many of the town’s ductile iron mains are roughly 100 years old and that council has been incrementally funding replacements. The manager said the borough maintains reserve funds for such contingencies and will seek competitive bids before returning to council for contract approval.

A council member moved to have engineers prepare bid documents and advertise for bids; Susan Clark seconded and the motion passed unanimously.

The next procedural steps are engineering bid preparation, formal solicitation, and a public bid opening; council reserved the right to reject bids and rebid if proposals exceed budget or expectations.