Paving bids in for fire center

One out of three bids for the paving phase of Carbon County’s proposed multipurpose fire training facility came in around the estimated cost.

County commissioners opened the bids Thursday morning for work which includes widening Emergency Lane in Nesquehoning from 11 feet to 22 feet to accommodate firetrucks and larger emergency vehicle traffic.

Bruce George Paving and Excavating Inc. of Kunkletown bid $811,879.85 for the work, which came in line with an original engineer’s estimate of $850,000.

The other two bids, however, were significantly higher with Lehigh Asphalt Paving and Construction of Tamaqua coming in at $1.49 million and CMG of Easton at $1.58 million.

“Certainly those bids over $1 million were more than we or our engineer expected,” Commissioner Chairman Wayne Nothstein said. “We’re hoping Bruce George’s bid is in order and we can approve that next week. They have done other paving projects for us. When we initially built the communications center, they did an excellent job. I have confidence in them.”

Last year, commissioners approved a Multimodal Transportation Grant agreement with the Commonwealth Financing Agency in the amount of $485,619 for this phase of the project.

Other proposed work for this phase includes widening the roadway turning radius to Emergency Lane; relocating the existing access driveway to the water treatment building on the north side of the property; and site preparation.

The widening of Emergency Lane is the first of three phases in the estimated $10 million project.

The facility, once completed, will provide fire departments with live fire training sites, a drill tower and other training necessities, as well as give police, county departments and EMS classroom and training options that normally are completed in other counties.

“It’s an inconvenience right now for the workers out there,” Nothstein said. “A temporary footpath has been installed. There will be additional lighting for our people going between buildings at night. Almost all meetings have been moved to other locations. It’s a temporary inconvenience for a permanent improvement.”

If the county is able to award the contract next week, widening work should begin this summer and be complete by the end of the year.

“That keeps us on track to start construction for the next phase next year,” Nothstein said.