Next round of bids eyed for Keystone State Park sewer line, trail project

The Derry Township Municipal Authority has inked easement and lease agreements and is seeking a second round of bids for a project to update sewage facilities serving Keystone State Park and install a recreational trail.

The trail would follow the path of a sewer line connecting the park to the authority’s New Alexandria treatment plant.

The authority hopes to have bids to consider at its March meeting to have bids available to consider for construction of the sewer line and several bridges along the trail route. Bidding of the trail construction will be handled separately, by state officials, according to authority engineer Ed Schmitt.

In November, the authority rejected project bids that came in $1.7 million beyond the available funding. Among the costliest items were two large bridges that will carry the hiking and biking trail across an oxbow bend in Loyalhanna Creek as it approaches New Alexandria.

The revised bid package includes the southern oxbow bridge as an alternate choice. Schmitt said the northern bridge will be placed on hold.

“We hope to bring the north bridge in separately with more (state) funding,” Schmitt said.

At its meeting Wednesday, the authority board approved an agreement with the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources that calls for the authority to demolish the existing sewage treatment plant at Keystone State Park. DCNR also will pay the authority for 25 existing and five future sewer taps at the park, while granting a right of way for sewer line and trail segments to be completed in the park.

DCNR will maintain the section of the trail within the park.

In addition to the park, the project will bring sewage service to about 30 nearby residential customers. The authority agreed to charge the park the same sewage fees, yet to be determined, that will be billed to the other customers in the area.

Some authority members expressed concern about a two-year timeline for constructing the sewer improvements that is included in the renewable 30-year agreement with DCNR.

“As long as we’re moving forward diligently, I don’t see them pulling the plug,” said authority Solicitor Bill McCabe.

The authority additionally approved a 25-year agreement with the Army Corps of Engineers, leasing areas needed for other sections of the trail, the sewer line and a pump station. In return, the authority will pay the Corps $10,000 for the value of timber to be removed and will pay $20,000 to West Penn Power, applied toward the Corps’ electricity bill.

Authority members also inked an agreement with PennDOT accepting a $1 million alternative transportation grant that can be used, among other things, to cover inspection of the project construction. Other project funding includes a $1.2 million PennVest loan and three DCNR grants totaling more than $1.57 million.