The Lycoming County Water and Sewer Authority (LCWSA) board approved applying for a $440,000 PENNVEST small loan, which, if approved, would be applied to the Schoolhouse Road critical loop waterline replacement project in the Limestone Water system.

The lowest bidder for construction for the project was Harger Utility Contractors with a bid of $826,614. The authority has $420,000 in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds, which could be applied to the costs for the project, if the PENNVEST loan is approved. The authority must use the ARPA funds by the end of this year.

A breakdown of the total $986,000 cost of the entire project shows the following: administration, which includes authority staff time for construction inspection/RPR services, $10,000; McCormick Law for settlement, $2,500; engineering, $92,500 for Century Engineering; permits, $1,600 for PennDOT; Construction, $800,000, project estimate with 5 percent contingency of $40,000; and meters and pits, $39,400.

With the ARPA funds and the projected PENNVEST loan funds, the remaining $126,000 will come from authority funds.

The project has been identified as a priority to address undersized and aging watermains and to complete critical looping to provide redundancy in the water system, according to information from the authority.

The Schoolhouse Road project involves replacing existing watermain with approximately 4,000 feet of 8-inch watermain and 400 feet of 10-inch watermain, replacing aged and undersized watermains and accommodating the connections for critical loop.

Existing customer service line will be renewed through the project area from the curb to the main.

Plans are for Harger to mobilize later this month with construction beginning in May and continuing through the summer.