ALBURTIS, Pa. — In the 1970s, the Bicentennial Village development was the new neighborhood of Alburtis, a borough of 2,500 in the southwest corner of Lehigh County.
But just a few months later, its sidewalks had begun to drop due to an engineering fault, Borough Council President Ron DeIaco said.
More than 40 years later, conditions are only worse, with residents voicing concerns over sidewalks' poor, uneven and sloping conditions.
- About three dozen Alburtis residents came to the community center to hear about plans for renovating sidewalks on three streets
- The sidewalks have been in poor condition for years due to an engineering fault, causing uneven conditions
- The nearly $1.5 million grant-funded project plans to make the sidewalks ADA compliant while constructing new curbs and sidewalks.
"It's severe," Jeffrey Ott said at a borough presentation Wednesday. "The sidewalk has dropped numerous inches behind the curb."
And now, Alburtis has a plan to deal with it.
With $1,452,254 that comes largely from the state Department of Community and Economic Development's Multimodal Transportation Fund Program grants, the borough plans sidewalk renovations to 82 Bicentennial Village properties.
The initiative brought about three dozen borough residents to Alburtis Community Center last week to hear a presentation from Ott Consulting on the project plans.
Borough officials say the bidding process for the work will begin soon.
Promoting pedestrian connectivity
While sidewalk repair responsibilities in the state generally fall on the shoulders of the property owner, the borough is stepping in through a grant-funded initiative to rebuild the curbs and sidewalks in the area.
Council President DeIaco said that after Bicentennial Village, on Lockridge Lane, East Second Street and Roberts Street, was finished in the 1970s, the sidewalks began to drop due to a poor job by the prior contractors.
Various rounds of grant funding from 2019 through 2021 have brought first $726,000, then $363,127 and $303,000 from the state to the borough for the project. When added with a borough match of $60,127, the money matches the original estimate of cost of for the project.Financial figures from the borough of Alburtis
Borough officials say they plan to search for bids this summer, and plan for construction to begin in spring 2024.
They said they expect the project to be completed in six to nine months after a contract is awarded and construction begins.
Many residents at Wednesday's meeting were eager to hear about the project, with many coming with concerns about timeline, potential cost and impact to their homes.
The project's main stated goals are to promote pedestrian connectivity and ease between downtown Alburtis and Lock Ridge Park, replacing existing deteriorating and non-ADA compliant sidewalk, driveway aprons and curbing.
It also will have intersection upgrades to improve pedestrian safety and will provide improvements to storm water drainage.
16b. Bicentennial Village Presentation by LVNewsdotcom on Scribd
Various rounds of grant funding from 2019 through 2021 have brought first $726,000, then $363,127 and $303,000 from the state to the borough for the project.
When added with a borough match of $60,127, the money matches the original estimate of the project's cost. That will go toward financing the project once a final bidder is found.
Promoting pedestrian connectivity
DeIaco credited former state Sen. Pat Browne and state Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, R-Lehigh, for their help getting the grant.
"We were really lucky to get this money"Alburtis Council President Ron DeIaco
Borough Manager Stephen Nemeth said delays involved with the project were due to COVID-19 impacts and the requirement for Americans with Disabilities Act compliance in the designs before grant money could be approved and released.
"We were really lucky to get this money," DeIaco said.
Compliance was achieved by proposing a foot-wide grass strip that would go out from the curb to allow a 2% slope on driveway aprons and cross flow onto the sidewalk.
To ensure a sloping that meets ADA compliance, a 2-foot cartway reduction will take place on the road, with a 1-foot grass strip on each side.
Ott said current plans allow residents to continue to park on both sides of the street, though some residents voiced concerns based on width limitations and observed speeding by other cars through the neighborhood.
'Been waiting 42 years for this'
DeIaco said further decisions on financing by the council may have to be made if the lowest quality bid made by contractors to the borough exceeds the grant funds.
But steps taken in that case would depend on the resulting bids and council and resident input, he said.
"We've been waiting 42 years for this. And I don't mind waiting a little bit longer if you make sure you do the job right."Alburtis resident Henry Crush
"We haven't reached that point yet," DeIaco said. "I think that we will be very close to the amount that we've properly budgeted.
"But I have to be very honest, and it could be over, and then you have to decide what to do. We want the project to be completed."
Councilman Hector Moss reminded the crowd that bids are publicly announced and advertised by the borough, but some residents requested additional meetings and letters to keep them informed on the project.
Interest in an additional public meeting was discussed for later in the process.
"We've been waiting 42 years for this," resident Henry Crush said. "And I don't mind waiting a little bit longer if you make sure you do the job right."
