Irwin officials have opted to help drivers temporarily bypass a closed bridge on Colony Drive off Route 30 by creating a road through a vacant paved lot connecting a street with an events center and a 226-unit apartment complex.
The decision is a stopgap measure that allows the borough to avoid installing a more expensive temporary bridge until it can replace the Colony Drive Bridge.
The temporary road project is estimated to cost between $50,000 and $75,000 and could last between eight and 12 weeks, Baum said. There also would be legal fees to file the temporary easements with the Westmoreland County Recorder of Deeds office.
The borough will seek the necessary easements from three property owners to create a temporary paved road from Calvary Baptist Church at 100 Caruthers Lane to Colony Drive, said council President Tyler Baum. Colony Drive ends in a cul-de-sac at the 226-unit Norwin Townhomes.
The bridge has been closed since Jan. 15, when a hole was discovered in the decking. Over the past few months, council discussed what it could do while seeking funding to replace the bridge. That cost has been estimated at $500,000 to $700,000.
The proposed temporary road, stretching about 1,000 feet, will be created through the vacant lot which is being used by people who live in the Norwin Townhomes apartment complex and those going to the Core Events Center.
All three property owners — Calvary Baptist Church, Norwin Townhomes LP and Albensi Management Consultants Inc. — have agreed to provide temporary easements through their land, said Steve Schmitt, borough engineer with Gibson-Thomas Engineering Co. Inc. of Latrobe.
Although the borough does not need to build a road like the heavily traveled Route 30, a stone base would be needed, along with two layers of asphalt, a top paved layer known as a wearing course and additional signage. A survey of the prospective roadway would have to be conducted.
The project would have to be advertised and a contract awarded. The actual construction of the road may take only four or five days, Schmitt said.
Part of the cost will be covered by a $24,000 donation from the owners of the Norwin Townhomes and an unspecified donation from Don Albensi, owner of Core Events Center. The borough will provide the remainder of the funding, Baum said.
The cost of building the temporary road would be cheaper than installing a temporary bridge in place of the closed bridge, as council had discussed previously, Baum said.
A Gibson-Thomas engineer had estimated the cost of purchasing and installing a temporary bridge, connecting it to the existing roadway and associated engineering work could cost about $175,000.
Creating a detour around the closed bridge would require working with PennDOT because the detour would include Route 30, a state highway. It could cost about $5,000 and would take a few months to create the detour with the state involvement, Baum said.
Once a new bridge is built on Colony Drive, the temporary road will revert to the property owners, borough officials have said. The road will remain in place.
To build a permanent bridge, Gibson-Thomas applied for $936,000 in federal funding through the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development grant program, Schmitt said.