Sharpsburg's $3.5 million Ravine Street sewer project on hold

A stormwater project expected to help alleviate flooding near Ravine Street in Sharpsburg is on hold.

Work was scheduled to begin in November but PennDOT Spokesman Steve Cowan said bids for the proposed $3.5 million project came in higher than expected.

“We are looking at what options are available to move forward,” he said.

The project will target sewer separation from High Street to the Allegheny River and is expected to remove millions of gallons of water from the ALCOSAN system, borough officials said.

When it begins, work will last longer than a year, Manager Bill Rossey said.

Stormwater that originates in small streams in O’Hara and Shaler, and some that comes from Route 28, will be diverted through a new pipe to the river.

“Work will start at the Allegheny River and work its way up to Ravine Street,” Rossey said.

Sharpsburg has earned more than $2.5 million in grants for engineering and construction.

In the meantime, an ancillary project to help alleviate area flooding is underway.

Sewer construction along Clay Street is expected to remove more than six million gallons of overflows near Sixth Street. Work has shut down the stretch of road from Sixth to Eighth streets and is scheduled to last through the end of the year.

The cost of the project is approximately $566,000.

The sewer is expected to ease backups that happen after heavy rain when water flows down the hill from O’Hara, Shaler and Route 28.