Repairs to Plum's Repp Road Underway

Emergency repairs to a dangerous stretch of borough road are under way at the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation's request. 

Because of the urgency of the needed repairs on Repp Road–which currently has a smooth aggregate surface that becomes slick when it rains—PennDOT already has approved the work.

A number of traffic accidents have occurred on Repp Road due to the slippery conditions, borough manager Michael Thomas said.

The work needs to be completed as soon as possible, he said, to avoid serious injury.

Repairs include ripping up the old road and putting down a better, safer surface.

“I know they have the stone and things in place,” Councilman Leonard Szarmach said. “They already started scratching the road.”

Szarmach is chair of the public works committee.

The repairs should cost about $67,000 and the money will come from the borough’s liquid fuel funds, Thomas said.

The seal coating process to repair the road should take only a few days, according to Thomas.

Council will vote retroactively on the repairs at its June 11 regular meeting. By then, the work may even be done.

“I realize it’s after the fact,” Thomas told council. “But PennDOT wants this repaired.”

The problem with the road surfaces isn’t one exclusive to Plum.

“Quite honestly, it’s happened all over Pennsylvania in various areas,” Thomas said.