Photo by James Short.
Township engineer recommended base repair patchwork now on the road which has not been paved or resealed in 25 years.
The much tread-upon Zieglersville Road in Lower Frederick Township has not been sealed or paved in more than 25 years, and supervisors continue to discuss how to efficiently best deal with needed road repairs.
According to township Engineer Carol Schuehler, P.E. at the June work session, supervisors should approve a base repair for parts of Zieglersville and Spring Mount roads where there is evidence of base failure, such as previously-developed potholes and cracking in the pavement surface.
Sacks & Sons had the lowest bid for both projects, at a combined estimate of $256,755.
“The project bid is for a full-depth repair where there is evidence of base failure,” Schuehler told Perk Valley Now. “The repair will restore structural integrity. Resurfacing of the road would be undertaken as a future project. With resurfacing, the top inch or so is milled and wearing course paving is installed.”
Schuehler told supervisors that the base repair should be done this year, and wearing course in the next two years, this way it spreads the costs out over multiple years while the township acquires more liquid fuel funds. All in all, Lower Frederick plans to use $175,717 in liquid fuel funds to support the project.
Furthermore, it plans to apply $61,038 from ARPA funds and $20,000 from the General Fund. Schuehler suggested using the entire $81,038 of ARPA funds for the projects.
“ARPA must be allocated and used in a limited timeframe,” she said.
“The road condition will continue to degrade if we don’t proceed with this project,” Schuehler said. “
Schuehler said the idea would be to mill out five-and-a-half inches of roadway all the way through the asphalt to the base and rebuild the patched area with a proper base on the pavement
A few supervisors were concerned with drainage and erosion issues in the area of the Schwenksville Borough Water Authority parcel.
“Last meeting we mentioned water issues that need to be dealt with. Carol focused on what was done, but are there other areas with water issues, and if so, how will they be dealt with?” said Vice Chair Chuck Yeiser.
“The water issues I’m cognizant of are downstream of the area where we just did a drainage project, and I understand that project is going to go a long way to solve them,” Schuehler said.
She said a storm pipe had been replaced by a developer near the Schwenk Road intersection, and another failed storm pipe under Zieglerville Road in front of the Arcadia development was replaced in 2017. A second pipe in front of Arcadia, closer to Main Street, was replaced by the developer, she said, and a portion of Zieglerville Road frontage received new curbing and drainage.
"The way I see the situation,” Yeiser said, “unless the township has a boatload of money to solve all the water issues, I don't see anything happening down the road that's going to make that situation better with the amount of money that we have to spend in this township. I don't necessarily agree with what I heard discussed at the last meeting about band-aiding it. I don't think that's the solution."
Supervisor Nicole Halter asked about an alternative road repair plan that had an estimated cost of $64,000. Schuehler said she would investigate it, but what was suggested was a scratch course on top of the damage to fill in rough spots in potholes until Lower Frederick moved on the project.
“Certainly, if the board can figure out a way to do that, I will see if we can, but we’re not solving the underlying problem, so we’re not fixing the road,” Schuehler said.
A few residents of ZIeglersville Road suggested holding off any roadwork until a sewer connection project is completed
“If we repair and repave it, hopefully we’ll do a good job and get another 25 years out of it, right? Somewhere in that 25-year period, we will probably be doing that sewer project that’s not connected. It seems to me to be a good idea to concentrate on that and get a plan,” said resident Warren Jacobs.
Ernie Schmidt, of Silverbrook Drive, asked what will happen with the stone arch bridge over Goshenhoppen Creek.
“(We’ve) seemed to forget about the bridge part of the road that we did work on in the past. We were planning to replace that with precast concrete, and for some reason, that all went away,” Schmidt said. “What do we do with the old stone arch bridge that is not suitable for highway traffic today because it is not technically wide enough for two cars to pass each other?”
Resident Bob Burns, of Zieglersville Road, agreed with both neighbors’ sentiments.
“I think the best thing here for the Board is to just hold this project off until next year,” Burns said. “The whole idea of milling out five-and-a-half inches – in that depth, and it’s in each patch location – you have no idea if the subgrade is good or bad underneath. When that’s determined, whatever alternate price in the bid for subgrade work is there, is going to be magnitude.”
Burns said the bridge is major concern for the township.
“Let’s get through the winter the way it is now. Let’s see if other drainage issues pop up, and see what happens,” he said. “If we have to wait another three to five years, we should do that.”
Board Chair Marla Hexter said there are 4,900 residents in the township, but only a dozen sitting at the meeting.
“While we appreciate everyone that comes here and comments, we have to make decisions based on 4,900-and-change residents and not the dozen that happen to come and express their opinion,” Hexler said. “We have to look after everyone that lives here.”
