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Community Corner

Arcola Road Bridge Q & A with Rep Vereb

Dear Friends,

As some have tried to make this bridge issue political and some are looking to politically point fingers, I have been working very hard to get to the FACTS of how we can expedite the bridge and its construction. I am posting the following question/answer format in order to help you with questions I have been asked. As always please feel free to pass this on, but most importantly please feel free to ask any questions.

Why is Penndot not planning this bridge construction and communicating with us?
The bridge is county owned. The only role the state has is the approval of plans and designs which the county is currently working on and also to ensure that the federal money is passed through on this project. There is minimal state money on this job. Penndot manages the distribution of the money and ensures proper construction etc. But again, due to it being a county bridge, the planning and design starts with the county.

I hear the money is there from the county but not the state, is that true?
No it is not. Refer to the above answer in terms of the state’s role. The federal money that is sent to Pennsylvania for roads is managed and disseminated by Penndot. This bridge was not due to be worked on until 2015. When we say “worked on”, we mean the current planning and design work that is underway and ultimately the physical construction. We were able to have Penndot release federal money now on this bridge as opposed to the plan of 2015.

Why is the old bridge still standing, don’t you think they should take it down now?
Yes I do think they should take it down now, however they need the easements from property owners to be able to get into the water and build the necessary platforms etc for its demolition. Even then the platforms that would be put in place would be used for the construction of the new bridge, so they would prefer to build them once. In the meantime the old bridge is open to walkers and bicyclists.

What if any efforts are being made to cut down on the timeline?
As many of you know, construction was scheduled to start in January of 2015. Since this announcement, I have met with every single consultant, engineer, elected official, and Penndot Official, all the way to the Secretary. At each of these meetings I expressed urgency, disbelief and the need to make this bridge an absolute priority. I have a meeting in my office every two weeks with a group of the following respective representatives. Lower and Upper Providence Townships, Collegeville Borough, Penndot, Montgomery County Bridge officials as well as the Commissioner’s office and each and every consultant and engineering firm working on the project.

What can you do about the backups on the detour routes?
As you may very well know, my office sits in the hub of the traffic. Since the closure, we have secured $125,000.00 from Penndot to install live traffic monitoring equipment on 6 traffic signals that impact the Collegeville Bridge Traffic. These units monitor live traffic patterns and adjust the lights behavior immediately. Right now, in order to change a timing of a light, a physical traffic study must be performed. This takes weeks ! This equipment is set to be installed starting on November 1 of this year. They have already bid the work and awarded the contract. This part is fully funded and installed with state dollars from Penndot. We hope and experts believe, that this will have a very positive impact on the traffic. If not we will be back at the table talking. This device was purchased as a result of the bi weekly meetings at my office, they were not planned in the project.

What is the latest timeline??
Good news, to an extent. At our last meeting in my office, we were told that if all goes well with the easement and property acquisition process, which is currently underway, that we are already saving time. The minute plans are submitted by the county, Penndot is reviewing immediately and either approving or sending back for fixes. Part of these plans include utilities, Department of Environmental Protection as well as design and construction plans. The final planning cannot be approved until all needed property has been acquired by the county. This all being said, in an absolute perfect world, meaning no major disruptions, construction may start in the late summer of 2014. I am not trying to be tricky or cute with this timeline. If an issue arises with property acquisition and it ends up in court, it could raise a major timeline issue. If that all goes well then we could start as early as late summer, the equivalent of 5 months early. Please understand that my bi-weekly meetings are being held for two reasons. First to ensure the bureaucrats know I am not going away until we cut a ribbon and secondly for every meeting we have, I want to cut the timeline down by a month. It is aggressive, but you deserve nothing less.

I want to continuously update you with facts. If you are looking to place blame then these emails will do no good. I understand the frustration and flat out anger. I understand the inconvenience and the impact of the quality of life you live because I am also a resident here and feel the impact as well. I will stand with you and remain very accessible for your questions. In the meantime drive safely and be in touch.

Mike

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