Wrightstown officials have come up with a plan for making emergency repairs to an ailing road – a move that means the township will likely avoid having to erect barriers on the lane, as had been feared, during the winter.
At a public meeting on Monday, Sept. 25, the Wrightstown Board of Supervisors authorized a proposal from the township road department that calls for enlisting the help of a third-party contractor to fix an area on Cedar Lane where the road bank is compromised.
As a result, Hanes Paving of Rushland is being contracted for a cost not to exceed $11,500 to help excavate the area in question, officials said.
Work will also include installing gabion baskets – wire mesh baskets packed with small rocks – along the edge. Additionally, the project entails stabilizing and paving the area. Wrightstown will purchase all materials needed for the fix-up at a price expected to be below $7,500.
“Undertaking this project now will allow the repairs to be made so that Cedar Lane would not need to be closed or travel-restricted through the winter months,” said Supervisor Chairman Chester Pogonowski.
Work could begin within the next couple weeks.
“While the road will not be closed or traffic detoured, it is expected that residents will experience delays in the area of the construction site during normal working hours,” Pogonowski said.
For nearly a year, the Wrightstown Board of Supervisors has been looking to fix Cedar Lane, a roadway that has been jeopardized by decades of erosion that was worsened by heavy mid-summer rain runoff. Stream bank and road edge deterioration are among the issues.
The township needs easements from property owners to complete the full scope of upgrades. Some residents have not signed off on the easements due to a number of concerns, which has delayed the project, officials had said.
Concerned for public/vehicular safety headed into the colder months, supervisors earlier in September said they were considering erecting barriers on Cedar Lane to mitigate hazards due to the road’s state, something that would have restricted traffic to one lane in at least some areas.
Still, the alternative plan now being put into action will provide a permanent fix in the critical area of the road being addressed for bank deterioration, meaning barriers and one-lane travel no longer appear to be in the cards.
Even so, it’s not a final fix for all the issues facing Cedar Lane, officials said.
“There is still a need to do additional stabilization work along the whole area,” said Pogonowski. “Consequently, the township still needs the easements to complete the original plan.”
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