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Twp. Authority Working on Sewer Line Repair
By Kristen Keleschenyi
The Tube City Almanac
June 20, 2022
Posted in: North Versailles Twp. News
The North Versailles Twp. Sanitary Authority is working on a project to repair sewer lines damaged by a landslide four years ago in the Crestas Terrace neighborhood.
Work is set to begin in July, officials said.
With approval from township commissioners, authority officials are in the process of refinancing a 2017 bond note that will help pay for the repairs.
Two lines must be repaired, including one that transports raw sewage away from a pump station in East Crestas as well as another sewer line that feeds the same pumping station.
The damage resulted from a major landslide along Milligan Avenue that occurred during an especially rainy stretch of weather that began in February 2018 and continued through April of that year.
According to documents from the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development, the sewer lines are now uncovered and any additional ground movement will result in a collapse.
“It will not be possible to reconstruct new lines through the slide area, hence the lines must be relocated, since failure is imminent,” HUD reported in October 2021. “To resolve this situation, two smaller pump stations must be constructed to replace the current station.”
Officials said. refinancing the 2017 bond note, which was last refinanced in 2019, will help provide funds for this capital improvement project which will cost upwards of $2.2 million.
Anthony Ditka, the attorney representing the sewerage authority, told commissioners that refinancing also will enable to authority to get a lower interest rate on the bonds, saving around $400,000.
Authority Chairman Frank Pearsol said the closing is still on track to happen by the end of the month.
The process to get the project off the ground has been time consuming, Pearsol said.
There have been delays working with government agencies due to the pandemic, but bids have been received and the authority is awaiting final approval from the state Department of Environmental Protection.
Construction is set to begin in July will take about eight months to complete, Pearsol said.
Kristen Keleschenyi is a freelance writer in North Versailles Twp. and one of the hosts of the Kristen & Amber Show on Tube City Online Radio at 5 p.m. Saturdays, 9 p.m. Mondays and 4 p.m. Thursdays. She may be reached at kbishop25@hotmail.com.
Originally published June 20, 2022.
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