Two roads remain closed in Bridgewater

BY PAT FARNELLI

Correspondent

Two roads in Bridgewater Township remain closed for washed out bridges, and culvert pipes will need to be replaced on Sprout and Ely Lake Road.

Three visitors from Sterling Road commented on the storm damage there, especially to the ditches alongside the road. Supervisors responded that they will try to get to that road with a repair crew by the end of the week.

At the Sept. 17 meeting, Paul Organishak attended the meeting to discuss Sprout Road. He was wondering about the township plans for fixing and re-opening this road. He voiced his concerns for safety and said that vehicles who don’t know the road is closed travel down it and the drivers find out that it is closed due to the washed out bridge.

Supervisor Kirk Heffner stated that he is waiting for the township engineer’s permit paperwork to go to the Department of Environmental Protection. As soon as he receives notice that DEP has accepted the paperwork, he plans to order a pipe. The supervisors will work on ordering a more permanent “Road Closed” sign for Sprout Road.

Heffner made a motion to give $500 to Wickizer Stone for headwall stone that has been used on the township roads and to send a letter thanking them for the 1,362 yards of quarry rubble they donated to help fix Beebe Hollow Road and Phillips road after the 2018 flooding. The motion passed.

Pennsylvania Department of Transportation District 4 Municipal Services Specialist Ed Sumski sent out a list of emergency teams to assist on municipal roads needing repairs which are not already under contract. These emergency teams will be working on roads, Oct. 1-12.

The township is hopeful they will soon hear from FEMA/PEMA about any emergency flood repair funding.

A truck working on the culvert on Wilkes-Barre Turnpike drove across the original culvert pipe, which the road crew was trying to re-use. The pipe gave way beneath the truck and the truck got stuck on the culvert and had to be lifted off by a crane, at a cost of $500.

The township received $548,554.24 in Act 13 Funds in July 2018, and $200,000 was deposited in the general fund savings account. The remainder was deposited in the general fund. $82,639.98 was paid to Berman Freightliner for a 2019 Freightliner truck. $5,175 was paid to Ken Rauch for the installation of pipe on Ely Lake Road. $42,200.44 was used for bituminous surface treatment for Lake Shore Drive and Hospital Drive. A mini excavator was purchased for $75,675.