New Kensington delays Carl Avenue repaving

Full paving won’t be done for an important section of Carl Avenue until 2020 — about 18 months after someone used spray paint to implore “fix me.”

The short section between Tarentum Bridge Road and Craigdell Road in New Kensington is a shortcut for many to avoid a traffic light leading to Leechburg or Freeport roads.

It forces a bumpy, uneven ride. So in August 2018, someone spray-painted a message to city officials on both ends of that section of road.

Last fall, city officials said they wanted to repave the section of Carl Avenue in the summer or early fall, after waterline and gas line projects were completed.

Both projects were completed well into fall. But the city engineer and city clerk want to seek contract bids for the paving instead of having it done by a city crew. They said a contractor will have the specialized equipment to deal with the thick, clay base of the road.

“Once you get used to it being bad, this news isn’t a surprise,” said Carl Avenue resident Terry Felt.

He said the street has been patched and is in better condition than it was.

But drivers are still speeding on it, he said.

“The problem is the traffic light,” Felt said. “It only allows four or five cars through at a time” so drivers seeing traffic waiting ahead of them for the light take the shortcut, Felt said. “Fixing the light will help.”

Councilman Tim DiMaio, who oversees public works, wants a guarantee that the work will be done in the spring. It should be the first project on the city’s “to-do” list, he said.

Meanwhile, the city’s water authority will soon finish some patching on Carl Avenue.

Ed Saliba Jr., assistant superintendent of distribution, said a small section will be paved on the end near Craigdell Road.

Water crews repaired a leak there in March 2018. It should take a couple of hours in the next week or so to mill and patch the roughly 10- by 10-foot section.