The Eldred Township supervisors approved a contract with New Enterprise Stone and Lime Co. in Leesport to provide the paving materials for this road season.

The township received bids from five companies, but New Enterprise came in with the lowest bid at $296,546.30. The contract is for four different sizes of stone.

The other four companies were: M&J Excavation Inc. at $307,670; Paving and Construction Co. Inc., $309,959; Bracalente Construction Inc., $343,331.86; and Bruce George Paving and Excavating Inc., $348,869.81.

Resident Doug Borger asked if all of the companies bid on providing the same materials.

“Man, that’s a big swing in the difference, because nine times out of 10 Bruce George was always the lowest bid,” he said at the meeting on May 20.

Public Works director Jonathan Gula explained that the price difference is related to the equipment needed for the project, and whether or not the company makes its own blacktop or has to buy it.

“When you put the stuff out to bid, it all depends on the road,” Gula said. “The road from Church to Fiddletown has that steep hill on it. If you don’t have a track paver, it’s going to be a hard pull for you to do. Also, if you don’t produce your own blacktop, you have to make up 6% in the sales tax because you have to buy the blacktop.”

Gula said that blacktop alone could run about $10,000.

“Whereas New Enterprise and Lehigh produce their own blacktop, they don’t have to subsidize themselves,” he said.

Lehigh Asphalt Paving and Construction Co. Inc. in Andreas was the only company to submit a bid for the materials contract. It provided cost amounts for 10 different types of material including bituminous patching material, Superpave, and stone for a total of $124,025 with delivery. The bid was accepted by the supervisors.

Gula also said that Burger Hollow Road has been prepped and is ready for pavement when New Enterprise comes in. The township also plans to do work on Wes Flo Road.

Next, the crews will begin replacing pipe on Point Phillips Road. It is part of a five-year plan, Gula said. They want to replace drainpipes, because half of the pipes are rotted and failing. Next summer, they will replace the pipes on a second section of the road, pave the first mile in 2028, and complete the paving in 2029.

The supervisors approved purchasing the pipe for Point Phillips Road for $9,581.08 from Chemung Supply Corp., as well as speed limit and curvature road signs for $6,951.50 from Reliable Sign in Nazareth. Gula said the township received a grant for the pipes.

Supervisor Scott Clark, the chairman of the supervisors, said, “All of these items were budgeted and were under budget on the amounts.”

Gula said the township’s cleanup day was successful. They disposed of 4 tons of tires; filled two 40-yard dumpster containers and a 20-yard container; collected 800 pounds of televisions; and four truckloads of scrap metal.

“People have been dumping tires along the side of the road; we picked up about 25 or 30 in the last six months,” Gula said. “Our bill for the tires was $485.”