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Increasing Fuel Costs Spur Changes in Paving Program
The increase in fuel costs has
impacted not only your
pocket book, but the
Township’s as well. According
to Township Engineer,David
Gardner, the cost of nearly all
materials and services
provided to the township has
risen significantly since last
year.“Everything has increased
– from piping to stone to
asphalt,” says Gardner.
“Sometimes we forget that
every item you purchase must
be transported by some
method, and that method
requires fuel or gas. So, the
trickle-down effect is felt
everywhere.”
As a result, the Township
has been forced to find
different methods to extend
the useful life of township
roads.“Each year, the Township
tries to address three areas
with our yearly paving
program:
1). reclamation of a
rural road, 2). re-paving of
subdivision roads, and 3). seal
coating of older, existing
roads,” says
Gardner.
Because of
the increase
in fuel and oil
costs,most
municipalities
now find it
difficult to provide
their residents with
the same level of
service while maintaining
their respective budget.The
total dollar value allotted in
the 2008 Budget for this
year’s paving program equals
$310,000.This figure isn’t
overly excessive considering
that the Township is
responsible for maintaining
over 70 miles of roadways.
One of the outside-the-box
methods that the Township
would like to implement this
year is a process called “Cape
Sealing.”The Cape Sealing
process is very popular in
many western states, and has
been used by numerous
municipalities to improve and maintain roads within housing
plans and other subdivisions.
The process itself is really the
marriage of two conventional
techniques that Pennsylvanians
have seen quite a bit through
the years – tar & chipping
with a top coat of slurry seal.
According to Gardner, the
tar & chipping process is a
very inexpensive way of
sealing cracks and preserving
roads; however, it is also very
unpopular with the traveling
public because of the dust it
creates and the loose stones
that develop.The Cape Sealing
process addresses those
concerns, because
immediately following the tar
& chipping is an application of a thick, black slurry mixture
that accomplishes the
following tasks: 1). further
seals the roads from sun and
water damage, 2). eliminates
dust and loose gravel, and 3).
adds a very good skip
resistance component to the
surface of the road. “I have
spoken to municipal engineers
in Colorado, Idaho and
Arizona,” says Gardner,“and
they all say the same thing
about Cape Sealing – the
process extends the life of a
road about 10 years at a very
low unit cost and with few
complaints from the residents.
Hopefully,we can experience
the same results in our
township.”
Projects and Programs
The Board entered into an
agreement with Lisa
Recrosio to operate a “Boot
Camp” Basic Training
Exercise Program at Morgan
Park for three days a week
starting in May and
running until October
2008.
The Board awarded a
contract to Russell Standard
Corp in the amount not to
exceed $56,820 for Public
works rental equipment.
The Board awarded a
contract to Cutting Edge
Reclamation in the amount
not to exceed $58,320 for
the annual road base r
eclamation program.
The Board awarded a
contract to Russell Standard
Corp in the amount not to
exceed $118,306 for the
township’s annual road cape
sealing program.
The Board approved the
advertisement of requests
for proposals for professional
consulting services for a
community center
Feasibility Study.
The Board approved
grant applications to the
Pennsylvania Department of
Conservation and Natural
Resource for a Master Site
plan for the Morgan
property, resurfacing of the
Panhandle Trail and
improvements to Sturgeon
Park.
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