Brackenridge decides to pave 3 streets this year

Brackenridge will try to pave three streets this summer with one being done in-house by borough workers.

Paving projects for Sixth Avenue and Ohio Street will be advertised for bids using the borough’s liquid fuels money, according to a decision by council Thursday.

Councilman John Stanzione, a member of the streets committee, recommended those streets be done by outside contractors.

He said paving on Sixth Avenue between Prospect and Morgan streets was needed since a new waterline was installed there. He said that one-block stretch is about 1,500 feet long.

As for Ohio Street, Stanzione recommended that a five-block stretch of it be paved from Freeport Road to Ninth Avenue. He said that will require an estimated 5,100 square yards of asphalt to pave the street, which has a width of 28 feet.

“I’d like to remind everyone that street is the main entrance for school buses,” he said, referring to traffic bound for Fairmount Primary Center located along Atlantic Avenue.

Councilman Verne Petz, chairman of the streets committee, took issue with paving Ohio.

He said both Roup Avenue and Horner Street were in worse condition and should be paved.

“We can’t pave everything,” council President Tim Connelly told Petz.

“We’re going to double up our costs on Horner by waiting another year,” Petz countered.

Connelly suggested that the borough probably can do the paving in-house using borough workers and the paving equipment recently purchased by the Allegheny Valley North Council of Governments to be shared by the member municipalities.

“The paving equipment is just sitting there,” Connelly said. “All we have to do is ask (COG director) Tom Benecki and he’ll put us on the list.

“Let’s bid two out and then do Horner with the COG equipment.”

Stanzione said the borough is working with about $106,000 in liquid fuels money received from the state.

Milling up the old pavement on Horner will have to be done by an outside contractor since there is no equipment to do that, Stanzione said. That service will be secured either through bidding or getting price quotes, depending upon the estimated cost.

Ultimately, council agreed with that plan. The Sixth Avenue project was approved unanimously. The Ohio Street project was approved on a 5-1 vote with Petz dissenting.