Commissioner discusses project

A Carbon County official is hoping for the best with regards to the upcoming rock slide removal project on the Mansion House Hill in Jim Thorpe.

Commissioner Thomas J. Gerhard on Thursday said he had some concerns with how long it took the state to get someone in to remove the rock slide that happened on the hill on Sept. 8.

But, he added, after speaking with state Rep. Doyle Heffley, he learned that it wasn’t simply that the state wasn’t moving quickly, but rather that contractors didn’t want to touch the job because of the dangers involved.

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation hired New Enterprise Stone and Lime Inc. of New Enterprise as the general contractor for the $354,103 emergency project.

Gerhard said that the project includes not only removing the rocks that came down, but also starting higher and scaling down to remove any other issues that may come down if not first removed properly.

“I’ll hope for the best and see how it plays out,” he said. “Bless the guy who took it (the job) and I wish them the best.”