Contractor asks to delay work on Oakmont retaining wall until next year
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A project to restore a retaining wall along Oakmont’s Allegheny River Boulevard has been postponed.
Jay Quade, senior inspector for Senate Engineering, said the contractor asked for the work to be postponed until spring because of low temperatures.
Quade said paint and other materials being used on the project require at least 24 hours of temperatures of 50 degrees or warmer to properly settle, and the project is expected to take between three to five weeks to complete.
The project is designed to make the entrance into Oakmont from Verona more appealing.
“Structurally there’s nothing wrong,” Quade said of the wall. “The repairs are all aesthetics. We want to make the wall more pleasing.”
Work is expected to cost $121,000. Council awarded a contract to Apollo-based Santamaria Landscaping in mid-July. The company was the lowest of five bidders.
The work will be paid for with a $138,000 state Department of Community and Economic Development grant even though the wall is owned by Allegheny Valley Railroad. The remaining $17,000 may be used for landscaping.
Quade said the project was previously postponed due to permitting issues with the railroad company, which have since been resolved. AVR is owned by Carload Express Inc.
Councilman Tim Favo said at Monday night’s council meeting that the weather-related postponement is fine, provided that work starts no later than June.
Traffic along Allegheny River Boulevard is expected to be reduced to one lane around the construction site once the project begins.