Houses along Orvilla Road slated for demolition
Homes acquired earlier this year, township still waiting for state grant
HATFIELD TWP. » Three houses on Orvilla Road will start to disappear next week, clearing another hurdle toward one of Hatfield’s biggest road projects.
Demolition work is scheduled to begin on Tuesday on three houses on Orvilla north of Cowpath Road where a road realignment project is planned.
“The three homes that the township acquired in the last several months are all slated to be demolished Sept. 25. All three houses will be coming down,” said Township Manager Aaron Bibro.
Talks have been ongoing for nearly a decade on a project to realign the offset intersection of Cowpath and Orvilla by creating a new northern leg of Orvilla slightly west of the current leg, which would remove one of the two traffic signals at the intersection and should create smoother and safer traffic flow. The township acquired a gas station on the north side of the intersection in 2014-15, received $280,000 in state grant money in 2016 to finalize the design, then asked for $3 million to acquire the three houses and build the new road, but were denied. Funds contributed by developers were then used
to finalize the acquisition of the three houses in March, and Hatfield has since applied twice for grant funding to cover the roughly $1.9 million cost to construct the new road.
Bibro announced during the board’s Sept. 12 meeting that the demolition work will be another area where the township can score savings, thanks to an unexpected offer from commissioner Larry Hughes.
“Special thanks to Vice President Hughes: we have entered into a partnership with the Operating Engineers in the local 542, and through an apprenticeship program, the workers from
542 will be actually doing the demolition at no cost to
the taxpayers,” Bibro said. “This gesture by Commissioner
Hughes and the local 542 is going to save
the taxpayers of Hatfield roughly $75,000, so we are grateful for this opportunity and this partnership,” he said.
Over the summer, the board has already allowed the three houses to be used for training by the township police department, the Central Montgomery SWAT team, and both the Hatfield and Colmar fire companies.
“They can really do significant damage, and get some significant experience cutting roofs and removing doors and navigating through tight spaces with smoke, and things like that,” Bibro said.
“Thanks to the commissioners for being willing to do that. I know they were all very appreciative of that gesture,” he said.
Staff have said the process
of seeking bids for the project can begin as soon as funding is secured, and with the township’s 2019 budget season set to begin with a goal-setting meeting at 6:30 p.m. on Oct. 17, Hughes said he hopes that word comes soon.
“Now, after all that, all we need is the state to come up with the grant money to realign two state roads,” Hughes said.
“Hopefully we hear something soon,” Bibro replied.
Hatfield’s commissioners next meet at 7:30 p.m. on Sept. 26 at the township administration building, 1950 School Road. For more information or meeting agendas and materials visit www.Hatfield.org or follow @HatfieldPA on Twitter.