Improvements at 2 Plum intersections will take money from another project

Covering the cost of improvements to two Plum intersections will require the borough to take money from another road project.

Plum received a $307,000 state grant for the work at Hulton and Coxcomb Hill roads, near a Sheetz and across from Oakmont Country Club, and on Coxcomb Hill at Rampart Boulevard.

While the borough also budgeted $108,000 for the work, for a total of $415,000, that falls $41,000 short of the only bid the borough received: $456,000, Borough Manager David Soboslay said.

To cover the shortfall, Soboslay said the borough can move part of $100,000 that was going to be spent for repairs on Barnes Road, which will not be done this year.

Part of Barnes Road, a connector between Elicker and Milltown roads with traffic to and from Plum High School, is starting to slide, Soboslay said.

Last year, the borough applied for a roughly $200,000 grant to help pay for the work, but the grants have yet to be awarded, he said. The project will be discussed as part of next year’s borough budget.

At Hulton and Coxcomb Hill, the work would involve removing a pedestrian island and relocating the pedestrian crossing signs to the sides of the road.

The borough wants to remove the island because vehicles hit it three or four times a year, Soboslay said.

The borough hopes to have that work done early next year, ahead of the U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club in June.

“I do want to give PennDOT credit, I know that doesn’t happen a lot. We did approach PennDOT about this issue with the U.S. Open and asked them to move their reviews forward as quickly as possible, and they’ve done that,” Soboslay said. “So I want to give credit where credit’s due. It’s refreshing to work with PennDOT and have them help us.”

At Rampart Boulevard, the traffic signal there is out of date and the entire system will be replaced, Soboslay said.

Council is expected to award the contract during its meeting Monday.