August’s almost unrelenting rains affected the Wabash Tunnel Bridge Project in Tamaqua, pushing back the opening of Broad Street to through traffic.

The good news, as told to Tamaqua Borough Council Tuesday night, is that the reopening was only pushed back one week. Traffic began flowing normally on Friday, a few days ahead of the first day of school on Monday.

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation project started once school was out in June and was supposed to have the street reopened by Aug. 19. Mother Nature had other plans.

Borough Manager Kevin Steigerwalt told council Secondary work at the site will continue which may at times lead to a lane closure, but otherwise everything is complete.

Not everything will be back to pre-construction status though. PennDOT has decided the traffic lights at Hunter and Spruce streets will remain as is.

Council President Dave Mace questioned that decision, due to an issue with one of the traffic signal poles.

Steigerwalt agreed there is an issue, as one pole, one not on the original plan, was placed in such a manner that it infringes on a park bench in the pocket park on Spruce Street.

When the pole was installed, workers damaged several of the benches, which were refurbished by Safer Streets for Tamaqua’s Little Feet. The group was assured the pole would be removed and the benches repaired.

Steigerwalt said he would speak with PennDOT officials about the issue.

A second issue is the handicap accessible ramp in the middle of the unit block of Broad Street, in front of the old Tire Pros building. The only way to make that ramp fit ADA guidelines is to redesign it, with the ramp running parallel rather than straight up onto the sidewalk. That will create an uneven sidewalk in that area and a railing will be installed around the ramp for safety reasons.

Council approved the 2018 Community Development Block Grant program, which will provide funding for the borough’s street repair program. Swatara Street will be getting a make over, complete with ADA ramps. Also included in the project are sections of Lafayette and Jerome streets, from Swatara to Pitt.

Schuylkill County Commissioners will also have to approve the project as the administrators of the CDBG program for all county communities.

Councilman Ron Bowman suggested “keeping a close eye on the contractor approved for the project. He’s been known to make a lot of change orders increasing project costs.”

The contractor for the project is M and J Excavating of Bloomsburg.

Anne Marie Calabrese, director of community development, also spoke of the CDBG program and recommended council approve a new agreement with the county. The current agreement extends through 2020 and the new contract will not have a set expiration date. “The county is trying to have all of the administrative contracts match, rather than have varied contracts with different municipalities.” Council unanimously approved the new contract.

Calabrese also noted she was undertaking the task of taking photos of all of the properties within the CRIZ Zone, with the help of Kyle Whitley. The photos will be used as a way to attract more businesses to the zone.

Details on the borough’s revamped sidewalk replacement/rehabilitation loan program will be released shortly.

Councilwoman Mary Linkevich announced the borough is currently finalizing plans to have an electronics recycling day in the near future. Details will be announced on the borough’s website and Facebook page.