Municipal News

Last Updated on Wednesday, 30 March 2016 14:58

The Westmoreland Conservation District is helping to make travel easier for drivers and improve the area’s water quality at the same time.

Sections of 14 roads in Westmoreland County communities from Donegal to Rostraver are slated for improvement during 2016 under the Dirt, Gravel and Low-volume Roads Maintenance Program, which the District administers. Locally, in Rostraver Twp., Orr Road will be impacted (Youghiogheny River Watershed).

The program’s primary goal is to improve water quality, as many of these roads run parallel to area streams.

More than $400,000 will be invested to improve portions of the 14 roads slated for work.

Repairs will be site-specific. Improvements to unpaved roads will focus on preventing erosion, which – in addition to degrading the road surface – can pollute the nearby streams with sediment. Work on paved roads will include making them better able to shed water in ways that don’t have as much of an impact on the streams.
To be eligible for the program, roads must be public and be either unpaved or paved/tar and chipped but used by fewer than 500 vehicles per day.

Local municipalities and other local entities that own public roads can apply for funding from the program. Award determinations are made by a panel of representatives from the Natural Resources Conservation Service, the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, and the Westmoreland Conservation District.

The next application period opens September 1 and closes October 31, 2016. The Dirt, Gravel and Low-volume Roads Maintenance Program is funded through the Pennsylvania Transportation Funding Bill (Act 89 of 2013).

More details are available at http://wcdpa.com/tech-services/dirt-gravel-low-volume-roads/ or by calling the Westmoreland Conservation District’s watershed staff at 724-837-5271.