Council Discusses Bolivar Run Flooding
By ANNE HOLLIDAY
WESB/WBRR News Director
Bradford City Council wants to keep a local waterway from flooding, and keep a major employer happy, but money is a key issue.
Council held a work session prior to Tuesday's regular meeting to discuss replacement of the Seaward Avenue bridge over Bolivar Run. Office of Economic and Community Development Executive Director Sara Andrews explained that the North Central Pennsylvania Regional Planning and Development Commission and PennDOT want to know if the city still wants the project in the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP).
The TIP consists of the first four years of PennDOT's Twelve Year Program. It’s a "living document" that is constantly being revised and amended. The official TIP is updated every two years.
Harold Bloomgren of Northwest Engineering in Tidioutte said after the flooding of 2003, KOA approached the OECD and asked for help. He said because the company is not locally owned, another flooding of their property could make them lean toward moving because they “don’t necessarily have to operate in the City of Bradford."
Additional flooding of the property “could jeopardize a rather large chunk of Bradford’s economy,” said Councilman Fred Proper.
Bloomgren said they came up with various options for the bridge replacement and stream widening.
The “hardscape” option would be a concrete channel that would be aesthetically pleasing. The cost would be about $4.7 million.
But he said the state Department of Environmental Protection doesn’t want hardscape; they want green or something “less hard.”
The other option would be grading about half a mile of the stream channel. The cost would be about $3 million.
The downside, Andrews said, is that two houses would have to be taken down. She said she hasn’t formally discussed the plan with the homeowners yet.
Mayor Tom Riel asked if DEP would consider a combination of the green plan and the hardscape plan.
Bloomgren said that after speaking with DEP it’s fair to say “they don’t like this job to begin with because it substantially changes the complexion of the stream.”
He said “making it as natural as possible” would be the best bet and a plan “would fall on deaf ears if we mention hardscape.”
Council also asked about emergency permits to clean out the stream to prevent flooding, and Bloomgren said DEP doesn’t give those out readily either.
“They don’t want you to disturb the larva,” Riel said. “They think there’s some trout stream or something up there.”
“Working the streams in today’s world is pretty difficult to do,” Bloomgren said.
At any rate, Andrews said if they don’t keep the bridge on list, there’s no way of addressing the issue of Bolivar Run flooding.
“We want to keep (the project) on the TIP,” Andrews said, adding “It’s very hard to get a bridge on the TIP anymore.”
She said she will work out various funding scenarios, and present them to council in June or July.
“Funding is going to be the key,” Riel said.
WESB/WBRR News Director
Bradford City Council wants to keep a local waterway from flooding, and keep a major employer happy, but money is a key issue.
Council held a work session prior to Tuesday's regular meeting to discuss replacement of the Seaward Avenue bridge over Bolivar Run. Office of Economic and Community Development Executive Director Sara Andrews explained that the North Central Pennsylvania Regional Planning and Development Commission and PennDOT want to know if the city still wants the project in the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP).
The TIP consists of the first four years of PennDOT's Twelve Year Program. It’s a "living document" that is constantly being revised and amended. The official TIP is updated every two years.
Harold Bloomgren of Northwest Engineering in Tidioutte said after the flooding of 2003, KOA approached the OECD and asked for help. He said because the company is not locally owned, another flooding of their property could make them lean toward moving because they “don’t necessarily have to operate in the City of Bradford."
Additional flooding of the property “could jeopardize a rather large chunk of Bradford’s economy,” said Councilman Fred Proper.
Bloomgren said they came up with various options for the bridge replacement and stream widening.
The “hardscape” option would be a concrete channel that would be aesthetically pleasing. The cost would be about $4.7 million.
But he said the state Department of Environmental Protection doesn’t want hardscape; they want green or something “less hard.”
The other option would be grading about half a mile of the stream channel. The cost would be about $3 million.
The downside, Andrews said, is that two houses would have to be taken down. She said she hasn’t formally discussed the plan with the homeowners yet.
Mayor Tom Riel asked if DEP would consider a combination of the green plan and the hardscape plan.
Bloomgren said that after speaking with DEP it’s fair to say “they don’t like this job to begin with because it substantially changes the complexion of the stream.”
He said “making it as natural as possible” would be the best bet and a plan “would fall on deaf ears if we mention hardscape.”
Council also asked about emergency permits to clean out the stream to prevent flooding, and Bloomgren said DEP doesn’t give those out readily either.
“They don’t want you to disturb the larva,” Riel said. “They think there’s some trout stream or something up there.”
“Working the streams in today’s world is pretty difficult to do,” Bloomgren said.
At any rate, Andrews said if they don’t keep the bridge on list, there’s no way of addressing the issue of Bolivar Run flooding.
“We want to keep (the project) on the TIP,” Andrews said, adding “It’s very hard to get a bridge on the TIP anymore.”
She said she will work out various funding scenarios, and present them to council in June or July.
“Funding is going to be the key,” Riel said.
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