Officials in Wrightstown want to fix a road that’s stability has been jeopardized by decades of erosion, but they need buy-in from residents to do so expediently.
The township Board of Supervisors discussed the situation on Cedar Lane at a recent public meeting. Stream bank and road edge deterioration are an issue at spots along the lane, which varies in width from 16 feet to 20 feet.
Along the southern side of the road, for example, there’s a ditch that’s widened from erosion over the course of about 30 years. The road’s integrity is threatened by the widening ditch.
To fix things, the township must obtain maintenance easements from property owners on Cedar Lane. Supervisor Chairman Chester Pogonowski said easement agreement packages have been sent to affected property owners, but as of this writing there were no formal agreements signed.
As such, supervisors asked township professionals to recontact residents in an effort to expedite the agreement process – a well-intentioned outreach focused on moving the work forward this year, officials said.
“The construction window is narrow to try to complete the work during the summer months while school is not in session,” said Pogonowski.
He noted that by law the township will be required to publicly solicit bids from contractors for the project. The process of then awarding the contract takes time. That’s further fueling the imperativeness of having agreements with residences inked.
“Supervisors are committed to getting this project completed this year,” Pogonowski said.
In October last year, officials indicated that the cost of design and construction on the project would be in the neighborhood of $330,000, though that number is subject to change depending on what actual bids look like.
Supervisors have said that no tax dollars will be used to fund the project, as money is planned to come from a reserve fund established from payments made by local quarries over the past 25 years.
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