After several attempts to lower the cost of the traffic signal project at the intersection of Main and Church streets, Slatington borough council has awarded the project to Wyoming Electric and Signal in Wyoming, Pennsylvania, for $348,580.80.

The borough was awarded a grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation for $270,000 for the project and has set aside $30,000 from liquid fuels funds to help pay for it. It still leaves a gap of nearly $49,000.

“The prices are all going up on this stuff,” said council member David Schnaars. “Six years ago, the regional estimate on that light was somewhere around $100,000 and it just keeps going up every year. I don’t see it getting any cheaper.”

Borough Manager Dan Stevens said an extra $20,000 could be taken from the liquid fuels fund to help bridge the gap, and maybe hold off on other expenditures since the overage wasn’t in the budget.

“I would suggest that they make it clear to Wyoming that there is no money for overruns or change orders,” Stevens said about the borough’s engineering firm.

“I agree,” said council President Bryon Reed.

The project involves an upgrade of the traffic signal to current standards, installation of required pavement markings, signage, curbing, sidewalks and ADA curb ramps incidental to the required work.

It is part of PennDOT’s Automated Red Light Enforcement program, which was established in 2010. It was created to increase safety on state roadways. Main Street is also state Route 873.

“I think it’s an important project,” said borough engineer Dave Lear. “Unfortunately, it is over the borough’s budget, but I believe there is too much shortcutting down through Second Street, and we have traffic jams through lights being not timed. I think it would be a better situation and safer situation for the whole borough.”

The council has been going back and forth for about six years trying to close the gap between funding and the cost of the project.

In 2018, the council received a bid of $409,000 from Kuharchik Construction Inc. in Exeter.

The borough had a grant for $169,000 from PennDOT and planned to use $30,000 from the liquid fuels fund for the project. That left them with a $210,000 shortfall. They decided to put it out for bids again.

In 2019, Kuharchik came back with a bid of $318,463, but Telco Inc. in Reading was lower with a bid of $286,628. Still over budget by $87,628, the council decided to reapply for the grant from Penn­DOT and put the project back out for bid.

PennDOT increased the grant award to $270,000, but bids in January 2021 were higher, too.

The borough received two bids. Telco was the lowest bid at $357,038, but was disqualified due to a problem with the notarization. The other bid was from Wyoming Electric and Signal at $364,360. Still too high, council put the project out to bid again.

Wyoming Electric and Signal came back again and was the only company to place a bid this time. They came down $23,000.