A project that will help with drainage at the Nesquehoning Hose Company is moving forward.

Last week, Nesquehoning Borough Council awarded a contract for site improvement at the fire company to M&J Excavation Inc. of Bloomsburg, who was the apparent low bidder. The company bid $288,516.28 for the project.

Nesquehoning will use a $393,183.72 Local Share Account grant it was awarded for the project.

Nesquehoning Hose Company fire Chief John McArdle said the department “is very appreciative for the awards and for the borough applying for the grant on our behalf.”

The scope of the project, which will occur in two phases, will include addressing the inadequate drainage from the embankment on the south side of the fire house in phase one.

According to the project outline, water from the property drains onto Route 209 and freezes in the winter, creating a hazard on the roadway. The problem has also caused failures to the pavement area of the driveway.

M&J will remove part of the embankment on the south side of the firehouse and install a 10-foot retaining wall and proper drainage. The company will also stabilize and reconstruct the pavement area within the driveway that has been compromised and repave the entire parking lot.

A 21-by-60-foot garage bay will be constructed in phase two of the project. That phase has not yet been bid out.

A timeline for phase one has also not yet been determined.

Nesquehoning Hose Company has been working to complete this project since 2015.

At the time, the fire company was awarded $198,835 through the LSA grants.

The department applied for a second LSA grant in 2017.

The fire company has also submitted another grant application to help cover the cost of the building addition, borough Secretary-Treasurer RoniSue Ahner said.