Verona's yellow brick road to be paved

Bricks that have lined First Street in Verona for decades will become a thing of the past as borough officials plan to have the deteriorating roadway paved this year.

“It’s one of the major roadways of Verona that traverses across the hills and not up and down,” borough Engineer Matt Pitsch said. “The bricks have more or less met their life span. There’s severe rutting. There are areas that we’ve had to patch with cold patch, and bricks themselves are crumbing apart.

“It’s a good project for the community. Everyone in town knows and talks about how poor First Street is. It’s really going to upgrade the area.”

The estimated cost is $450,000. The borough obtained a $390,000 grant through the state Department of Community and Economic Development’s Multimodal Transportation Fund.

It is a matching grant with Verona on the hook for about $68,000.

Pitsch said the plan is to put the project out for bid later this month with the goal of awarding it in April.

How to close the road for construction has yet to be decided.

Pitsch said they may shutdown one lane or one block at a time.

Dave Matlin, councilman and public works committee chairman, said the smoother road will be a welcomed site to residents and other travelers.

“There have been a lot of complaints from residents (about First Street),” Matlin said. “There are a lot of dips and depressions, potholes and typical wear and tear you see on a brick street.”

He said replacing the brick was not financially feasible compared to asphalt paving.

“It’s a lot cheaper,” Matlin said. “The brick is really costly to reconstruct and to maintain, so the asphalt is a lot more cost effective.”

The paving, whenever it may be approved, will not begin until a sewer project is completed.

Council previously awarded an estimated $63,270 repair project to Oakdale-based Jet Jack Inc.

Pitsch said work includes trenchless sewer lining of 1,375 feet of an 8-inch sanitary line and 270 feet of a 10-inch sanitary line.

It is being paid for through a Community Development Block Grant of about $43,500 with a $19,750 borough match. Some final paperwork and Allegheny County approvals are needed before that work can begin.

A deadline for construction completion was not announced.