Birdsboro Council updated on Hay Creek bridge construction

Birdsboro Borough Manager Aaron Durso provided an update to Borough Council at the Dec. 3 meeting on the ongoing construction of the new Route 345 bridge over Hay Creek.

According to Durso, the banks along Hay Creek where Clearwater Construction, the bridge contractors, are constructing the new bridge has been experiencing erosion, which has led to the loss of a portion of two parking spaces in the Birdsboro Borough Hall parking lot.

Also resulting from the unstable banks, the bridge contractors were forced to demolish the “Borough of Birdsboro” sign in front of Borough Hall after it had been undermined by collapsing banks and was in danger of falling into Hay Creek. After unsuccessful attempts were made to disassemble the sign, demolishing the sign became their only option.

Clearwater Construction agreed to replace the sign, which was first erected in 2004, and the borough will find a record of the cost of the sign to negotiate what they will pay for its replacement. When construction on the new bridge is finalized, tentatively scheduled for May of 2013, Clearwater Construction plans to come back and restore the two parking spaces. They also reed to line stripe the entire parking lot for the borough as well when they redo the two spaces.

Durso commented that the bridge’s contractor, Clearwater Construction, has been great to work with and very helpful to the borough during the ongoing construction.

In other business:
Birdsboro Mayor Robert Myers told the council that Birdsboro Police Chief Roth had approached the Pennsylvania State Police Department about help with speed enforcement on borough roads, specifically East 1st Street. According to Myers the state police agreed to do some radar gun work in the borough, “on a very limited basis.”

In Pennsylvania, laws allow only state troopers to use radar guns for issuing speeding citations. This is the latest step the borough has taken to curb speeding on East 1st Street after receiving complaints from residents.

Birdsboro Borough Council voted unanimously for the municipality to make a donation of $250 to Crime Alert Berks County at the behest of the Berks County District Attorney’s Office. The District Attorney’s Office had recently made a large donation to the Birdsboro Police Department to fund the purchase of new rifles. Crime Alert Berks County is a non-profit volunteer organization that offers rewards to help encourage citizens to provide tips to law enforcement to help solve crimes and put criminal behind bars.