'Bare Bones' Vote On 3rd Street Bridge/Dam Coming in May

No decisions will be made on the 3rd Street bridge/dam until the next regular Media Borough Council meeting on May 17, Council President Brian Hall announced at council's meeting Thursday night.

The decision in May will likely only give very broad direction as to the nature of the project, Hall added.

In order for the project funding to be allocated in 2013, council is required to provide PennDOT with basic information—"a minimal paragraph ... very bare bones," Councilman Paul Robinson said—in May.

"Will there be a dam? Will there not be a dam? If there's not a dam, what will be there? That's the nature of the vote, as I conceive of it, in May," Hall explained. "We're not going to go into what a structure will look like in May; that's something that will have to be worked out once we give PennDOT our direction as to what project will be."

Council is aiming to get the 3rd Street project on the 2013 Transportation Improvement Program, called the TIP. The TIP is a regionally agreed upon list of priority transportation projects, for which money is allocated every other year. If council submits the necessary information to PennDOT by May 18—a three-day extension that was requested by council, and granted—funding will be available in 2013.

"If we delay or if something comes up … the next available time to get funding is 2015," Councilman Kent Davidson said.

The project funding will not disappear, but it won't be allocated for another two years if the project is not placed on the 2013 TIP.

Davidson said after the meeting that PennDOT is asking for such basic information because they recognize the complexity of the project and are eager to begin work on it.

"This project is probably one of the most complicated projects that we've ever encountered," Davidson said. "… but because there's three parties, the long history, the litigation, two utilities, two neighboring provinces—PennDOT and DEP are very much aware of the complexity of this."

"What they need is to make sure we have a project by the end of the year so we can get put on that budget list for next year," Davidson added. "This is one of the top 10 most unsafe dams in Pennsylvania. They are anxious, as are we, to get this project [underway]."

Once the "bare bones" information is provided to PennDOT, council will work with PennDOT and the project engineers to determine what the project will look like.

"I can't really address a timeline as to how we would go forward in May—that is in large part determined by what the decision is in May," Hall said.

"I know that's not particularly satisfying," Hall said, "but understand it is very, very complicated and we're trying to take things piece by piece and step by step."