Lower Makefield will move forward with its 2023 road improvement program despite the fact that it will be much more expensive than anticipated.
The board of supervisors at its April 19 meeting voted 4-0 to award a $1.16 million contract to Earle Asphalt Company to repave and/or resurface all or parts of 10 township roads totaling 3.13 miles. The company’s low bid was $379,000 more than the $785,000 Lower Makefield had budgeted for the work.
Township Engineer Andy Pockl said one of the reasons for the higher-than-budgeted bid was the current high cost of asphalt. The supervisors agreed to cover the increased cost with leftover proceeds from a 2016 bond issue. The remainder of the total cost will be funded with $735,000 from the township’s share of the state tax on gasoline and other liquid fuels, and $50,000 from the township’s allotment from the federal American Rescue Plan Act, township Manager David Kratzer said.
Scheduled to be worked on a little later this year, according to information provided by Kratzer, is East and West Wellington Drive, North Bradford Road, Wyngate Drive, Central Avenue, Heather Circle, Ramsey Road (Kings to Roelof’s Road), Roelof’s Road (Ramsey to Derbyshire), Fountain Drive and Maplevale Drive.
In another action from the meeting, the supervisors voted 4-0 to award a $44,575 contract to Remington Vernick Engineers, Pockl’s firm, to do an environmental assessment of the township-owned Patterson Farm on Mirror Lake Road near Interstate 295.
Pockl explained the work will involve taking extensive samples of soil around the farm’s 15 buildings and having the samples tested at a lab for a variety of contaminants, including lead. He added that previous investigation done by RVE in 2018 had found some lead contamination around the farm’s Satterthwaite House but this latest assessment will give township officials the complete picture of possible contamination so they can formulate a remediation plan in advance of possible improvements coming at the property.
In March, the supervisors had awarded a $113,900 contract to Seiler + Drury Architecture to develop a master plan for the 234-acre farm including recommendations for future use and improvements.
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