Commissioners move forward with bridge replacement project
The Fourth Street Bridge replacement project in North Irwin Borough is continuing to move forward.
At their meeting Thursday, Westmoreland County Commissioners approved an agreement with SAI Consulting Engineers Inc. for the preliminary design, final design, services during construction as well as right-of-way acquisition for the project.
The agreement includes a historical bridge rehabilitation assessment that is required by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission at a cost of $68,358.17, bringing the total agreement to $714,215.36.
Commissioners also approved a letter of amendment with the Standard Bridge Reimbursement Grant agreement with the state, acting through the state Department of Transportation, that increases the preliminary design cost from $350,000 to $415,000 to account for the historic bridge rehabilitation assessment.
The project is 80 percent federally funded, 15 percent state funded and 5 percent county Act 13 funded.
In other business, Commissioner Gina Cerilli was designated as the applicant agent for the state Emergency Management Agency, public disaster assistance application and agreement for financial assistance for Winter Storm Jonas that hit on Jan. 22 and Jan. 23 of this year.
If approved, the agreement would provide 75 percent reimbursement of eligible costs incurred by the county during the storm.
Commissioners also approved a bid of $94,858 by Hanson Aggregates BMC Inc. of Connellsville for bituminous plant mix and stone aggregate and a bid of $28,000 by Westmoreland Proclean LLC of Greensburg for commercial window cleaning services for county buildings.
The commissioners also approved bids for maintenance and snow removal of several industrial parks in the county under the Westmoreland Industrial Development Corporation’s agenda.
For Westmoreland Manor, commissioners approved a proposal with Huckestein Mechanical Services Inc. of Duquesne for the replacement of two domestic storage tank replacements in amount of $28,830.
The commissioners also awarded over $9,000 total to 12 applicants for the county’s local arts subgrants. Recipients are Derry Area School District Foundation, $650 for summer concert series; Latrobe-GLSD Parks and Recreation, $650 for summer concert series; Westmoreland Arts & Heritage Festival, $1,200 for performing arts festival; Borough of Scottdale, $800 for concert in the park series; Irwin Borough civic activities committee, $1,000 for concerts in the park; Derry Railroad Days committee, $500 for Derry Railroad Days event; Ligonier Valley Chamber of Commerce, $850 for Sunday summer band concerts; Westmoreland County Federated Library System, $500 for Pittsburgh Filmmakers animation classes; Westmoreland County Historical Society, $250 for Pollinators in the Park: Finding Beauty in a Healthy Habitat; Township of Penn, $1,000 for Fall Festival community event; and Westmoreland Choral Society, $600 for Carmina Buran-Choral Performance.