A leaky pipe recently caused a small sinkhole to open up on Craig Street in Bowmanstown Borough. The hole is located along the edge of the road near the intersection with Pine Street.

At the council meeting Tuesday night, Norman Engle Jr., council member and chairman of the Streets Committee, said an orange construction barrel is covering the hole, which although it is small in diameter, is also 9 feet deep.

“How long are we going to let that sit before we fix it,” asked council member Darren Thomas.

“We cannot get it until the rains stops,” Engle replied.

Craig Street has been plagued with potholes, and a group of residents have attended every meeting for a couple years pressuring the council to act on repairs to the road.

Their voices have been heard.

The council approved a resolution to authorize the submittal of an application for a Multi-Modal Transportation Fund Grant to the state Department of Community and Economic Development for reconstruction of Craig Street.

Jessica Rehrig, the borough’s engineer, said the grant request is for $842,000. She said she has broken the project into two phases and the total grant amount would help to cover the cost of both phases.

Craig Street runs Fireline Road to Oak Street at the top of the borough near the boundary line with Lower Towamensing Township. The North Phase would encompass the area from Fireline Road to Pine Street. The South Phase would continue from Pine to Oak.

Rehrig said she is finishing the grant and will submit it before the July 31 deadline. She also intends to apply for a Local Share Account Grant to help with the costs of the project.

The borough is also working on the construction of a road to extend Lime Street between Green and Spring streets, which is being funded by a Multi-Modal Transportation Fund Grant the borough has already been awarded.

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation approved the plans and now the project can move to the next step.

Rehrig said she will put the project out for bids next week on PennBID. Bids will be due on Aug. 6 to be read at the next council meeting. A pre-bid meeting will be held at 10 a.m. on July 17 at the borough hall to provide general information. She expects that all of the grading and stone work will be completed by Nov. 30, with paving to be completed by April 30.