Politics & Government
City to Spend $1.05 Million in Capital Repairs
Sewer repairs, traffic signal updates and handicapped ramps are on the list.
Easton will spend $1.05 million in necessary capital repairs, upgrades and expenses in the coming months, officials announced Tuesday evening.
Speaking at city council's workshop meeting, public works director David Hopkins outlined the necessary projects for city officials, which will include:
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A $200,000 contribution from the city towards the Glendon bridge deck replacement
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Sewer line repairs totaling $240,000
Traffic signal control upgrades at 10 intersections for $90,000
Find out what's happening in Eastonfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Handicapped ramps on Lincoln and Ferry streets for $140,000
New guide rails on Cattell Street approaching College Hill at a cost of $90,000, and
A traffic signal at Cattell and High streets.
Additionally, the public works department will purchase an industrial lawn mower for $80,000, a leaf collector for $30,000 and a heavy truck, used for hauling and snow removal for $80,000, replacing decades old equipment that is infeasible to continue to repair, Hopkins said.
“There are some things that we're really desperate for,” he said, adding that the new mower will replace a 1989 model that is breaking down regularly. “That's something we need badly.”
The sewer repairs will largely not require the streets to be trenched, as the city plans to reline most of the pipe in need of repair where it can.
Hopkins said this option is more economical than replacing the lines, and the work should have a 75- to 100-year lifespan.
About 40 percent of the city's sewer system, which mostly consists of clay pipe, has been surveyed by video so far.
Though old, Hopkins said most of the clay pipes are in no danger; only some are in need or repair or replacement.
“Those that are correctly set can last indefinitely,” he said. “I don't think our sewer system is something to freak out about. It's actually in pretty good shape.”
The traffic control upgrades will replace mechanical timers and signal changers, many of which have not been upgraded in three or four decades, with modern computerized controls.
And,in the city's South Side neighborhood prior to the Easton Water Authority's repaving the street following it's water line replacement project.
The city will bear the construction costs, and EWA will pay for the engineering, at a cost of approximately $1,500 per intersection for 20 intersections, Hopkins said.
Previously, some city council members said they felt EWA should bear the entire cost as part of the repaving project.
“There's no houses on one side of the street, so it's real hard to make the argument that they should go curb to curb (and bear all the costs),” Hopkins said.
The other option, should the city not wish to cover the costs associated with the ramps, is for the paving to exclude the intersections, leaving the bumps and ruts from the recent water line replacement.
“I think the residents would go nuts,” Hopkins said of that option. “Sooner or later, you're going to have to put them in anyway.”
“It's crazy not to do (them),” Mayor Sal Panto said.
Meanwhile, residents on Butler Street will likely see the beginning of that thoroughfare's repaving sometime in August, Hopkins said.
“Those people have really put up with a lot,” he said. “There is light at the end of the tunnel.”
