Monday night, Tyrone Borough council approved a bid for the cleanup of accumulated stone and other debris under the Ninth Street Bridge.
The Borough had met with Department of Environmental Protection representatives in early October to secure a permit to do the work after a stone bar several feet in height had developed after the high waters which caused flooding in September.
During the DEP’s visit in October, borough and state officials toured the area near the Ninth Street bridge as well as the flood control project in Schell Run near Shippen Street.
In his monthly written report, Code Enforcement officer Tom Lang told council that an overall inspection of the flood control facilities along the Little Juniata River was also completed from the bridge upstream to the area of Hutchinson Run near the Ferner Baseball Field.
After the inspection was completed on Oct. 7, DEP approved an emergency permit to allow the borough to remove stone and silt from under the bridge. Such permits are for 30 days, however as Mayor Patricia Stoner said in October and reiterated Monday night, DEP also granted two 30-day extensions. The move essentially allows the borough 90 days from Oct. 7 to complete the work.
According to Lang, DEP told the borough a permit wasn’t needed to remove the stone and silt at the flood control project at Shippen Street. In his report, Lang noted the borough has completed the stone and silt removal in that area.
The borough received quotes from three different local excavating contractors to do the Ninth Street Bridge area work. Because of the emergency nature of the situation, the borough did not have to follow its normal bid procedures such as advertising, bid opening etc.
The low bid for the project was submitted by Blair Excavating of Tyrone for a price of $13,632.80. Council approved the bid.
Mayor Stoner also asked if the company would be able to take care of tree in the river. Lang indicated he would seek to have the excavating firm take care of the tree as part of the project.
The borough learned through contact with Norfolk Southern railroad that the area under the Ninth Street Bridge is owned by the SEDA-COG Joint Rail Authority.
Lang said a meeting was held last week with SEDA-COG director Jeff Stover who informed the borough a temporary easement will have to be granted to remove the material under the bridge. Lang told The Daily Herald the granting of the easement is expected. On Tuesday, he said he in the process of contacting Blair Excavating to make arrangements to have the work completed. Lang said he didn’t envision the work taking longer than a week to complete once it is started.
The borough also met with Stover about a section of an earthen dike located in Snyder Township along the Little Juniata River, south of Park Avenue and 7th Street. During the DEP inspection, the area was found to be damaged. According to Lang, a large portion of the riverbank and dike in the area had eroded and had washed down river. Lang explained the borough informed Snyder Township about the problem through a letter.
Lang said Stover told the borough he would discuss the issue with the SEDA-COG authority and inform the borough of their intended course of action.
Lang also said Snyder Township officials were also invited to the on-site meeting with Stover but officials from the township did not attend.
