EBENSBURG — A Blacklick Township waterline project should be underway in May and design work for other sewer and water initiatives are being lined up to follow, Cambria Redevelopment Authority officials said last week.
The authority awarded a $133,530 low bid, one of 18 submitted, to Glenn Hope-based Norman G. Diehl Contracting to extend one mile of waterline to homes on Bethel Road that currently rely on wells.
‘‘These people are having trouble with gas in their wells,’’ said Redevelopment Director Larry Custer, noting that six homes will connect to the line.
While funding to do the work was allocated to remedy the health issue, the new waterline also will open up opportunities for others to build near the line and connect, Custer said.
The project, which involves adding two fire hydrants, is expected to take about two months and wrap up this summer.
Meanwhile, the authority awarded design work for three other projects, including two in Jackson Township and one in Washington Township to Cresson-based Hegemann & Wray Consulting Engineers.
The plans are a necessary step, Custer said, to get the sewer and water projects under construction by 2009.
n More than a mile of 6-inch waterline will be added along Chickaree Hill Road and 1,800 feet of line along Wagner Road, a project that will provide water to at least 26 homes. Funding is in place to pay for the project, Custer said.
n Less than a half-mile of new sewer line will be extended along Loraine Road in Jackson, where 18 properties will connect. Jackson Township is using its Community Development Block Grant funding for 2007 and 2008 to foot its portion of the bill, estimated at $320,000.
n In Washington Township, 2,500 feet of old waterline will be replaced along Memorial Drive, the second phase in the Lilly coal area project. The redevelopment authority has earmarked $80,000 in 2008 grant money to wrap up the project.
A storm collection system also will be built in Sidman, Adams Township, a project that will require 2,000 feet of sewer lines, Custer said. Design work on that project was awarded to Westmoreland County-based Morris Knowles & Associates.
Custer said the projects could be ready for bid later this year.
Mirror Staff Writer David Hurst is at 946-7457.

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