Railroad Avenue closure coming for Lansdale complex construction

LANSDALE – Railroad Avenue in Lansdale will be closed indefinitely starting Thursday as contractors begin work on turning the now-vacant Borough Hall into a new borough municipal complex. ‘Things should get rolling Thursday. Fencing should go up, trailers should get dropped on Railroad Avenue, and the asbestos abatement starts Monday,’ said councilman Dan Dunigan. Dunigan, borough Manager Timi Kirchner and Director of Community Development John Ernst gave an update Wednesday night to council’s Administration and Finance committee, which Dunigan chairs, on pre-construction progress of the new complex. Planning meetings with contractors began last week and emphasized a focus on safety, so fencing and temporary construction trailers will start to appear around the former borough building imminently. ‘They will be starting demolition as soon as asbestos abatement is complete. They expect that to be complete by the end of next week. The week after that they will be in position to start demolition,’ said Ernst. While Railroad Avenue is closed for the roughly two year duration of the project, visitors and employees at the nearby Century Plaza office complex will retain access to their parking lots off of Green Street, borough officials said Wednesday. Drivers heading east on West Main Street can detour by turning right onto South Broad Street, and those visiting the Lansdale Police Department will still be able to access the police station off of Vine Street. Borough council voted unanimously in November to award a contract for construction of a new borough administration building and police station within the shell of the former Borough Hall along Railroad Avenue. One schedule change has been identified as necessary for the borough complex project already, Ernst told council’s Administration and Finance committee Wednesday night. Due to short weeks from several winter holidays, schedule specifications stating that demolition work would have to be completed by Dec. 31 will need to be changed. ‘The structural engineering required to produce engineered drawings for securing the three outside walls that we’re saving, of the building, has required more time to generate those drawings,’ Ernst said. Since the brick walls of the 1930s-era building will need to be reinforced during construction in the building itself, as well as with the ongoing Wood-Vine Street Connector project just outside the building, the schedule change will need approval from borough council when it meets Dec. 18, Ernst said. Council will also be asked for another approval related to the borough complex at that meeting, according to Ernst and Kirchner: Conshohocken based engineering firm Remington, Vernick & Beach, which already performs general engineering consulting for the borough, will be hired to perform on-site inspection and certification throughout the municipal complex project. ‘It’s sort of like brokering: in the event there’s some sort of discord, you don’t want the contractor arguing directly with the (building) owner,’ said Dunigan. Work on the demolition of borough hall will be done by contractor Gordon H. Baver Inc. of Pennsburg between 7:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. during week days only, Ernst added, after he and Kirchner described their numerous safety programs and safeguards for employees to the committee. If necessary, more information on temporary detours will be posted on the borough’s website, www.Lansdale.org, through the borough’s Facebook page and on Twitter @LansdalePA. Work on nearby Vine Street should be far enough along to allow that portion of the road to be reopened for much of the winter, ahead of a final pavement coat along the Wood-Vine route in spring 2014, according to borough officials. Borough council next meets at 7 p.m. on Dec. 18 at the North Penn School District’s Educational Services Center, 401 E. Hancock Street. Follow staff writer Dan Sokil on Twitter @DanSokil.For breaking news SMS alerts from The Reporter, text LANNEWS to 22700 from your mobile phone. *Msg & data rates may apply. For help, text HELP. To cancel, text STOP.