Cops, Courts & Fire -Bristol Township
Randall Ave Bridge Restoration Project to Begin Next Week
The long awaited and much anticipated work to the Randall Avenue Bridge in Bristol Township will begin in earnest next week, township manager Randee J. Mazur said Thursday.
We have an executed agreement with Haines and Kibblehouse based in Chalfont H & K) in the amount of $1,085,260.00. The project was originally planned to start June 21st and was pushed back a week by Amtrak to now begin Friday, June 28th,” she said.
Mobilization for the work began earlier today, with setting up the construction laydown areas. They plan to use a portion of Pitt Avenue that is closed and will set up temporary chain link fence with a lock to secure all materials and equipment, officials said.
The Project Schedule is as follows:
6/28/24 to 7/1/24 – 55 Hour Outage on Track 3 with nighttime outage on Track 2
7/12/24 to 7/15/24 – 55 Hour Outage on Track 2 with nighttime outage on Track 3
7/26/24 to 7/29/24 – 55 Hour Outage on Track 1 with nighttime outage on Track 2
The bridge work, with no delays to the schedule, should be completed by the end of July, Mazur said.
Randal Ave Bridge Closed
Credit: Lower Bucks Source
“Gilmore and Associates is finalizing the abutment project bid and details, should be completed early July and then we will solicit bids for this work.”
If the abutments are ready for work, then with contract awarded, this work could start as early as July or August and is estimated to take three months. The abutments are what is required for the 3.5-ton limit and there is discussion with the work being done that it may be able to be increased once completed. The township manager said, our police department was advised we will need truck enforcement for the bridge to enforce whatever weight limit there is while we continue to work on design and funding for a full bridge replacement.
The 169-foot span bridge in the Edgely section of the township has been closed since February of 2023 after chunks of the bridge fell onto the ground and onto the Amtrak and SEPTA rail lines below. For the 16 months township officials have worked feverishly reviewing solutions, applying for grants, speaking, and meeting with civil construction companies and leveraging county, state, and federal officials seeking help and support.
A community meeting held by the township in January involving officials from state, federal, and Amtrak offices seems to have put the project in motion. For almost a year there was little to no movement on what exactly should be done, due in part to Amtrak’s specific guidelines and requirements, one official, who asked not be identified said.
The project has gone back to using hi rail equipment for some of the work. H&K has their hi rail inspection scheduled for June 26th. H&K is planning to mobilize today and start setting up the construction laydown areas today and tomorrow (6/20 & 6/21). They plan to use a portion of Pitt Avenue that is closed and will set up a temporary chain link fence with a lock to secure all materials/equipment, Mazur said.
Bristol Borough Fire Chief Herb Slack on Tuesday morning released the following statement on last nights Dorrance Street Fire.
It’s only been edited for style:
Credit: Submitted
Credit: Joe Nelson
Cops, Courts & Fire -Bristol Township
Bristol Twp Police Reports: Levittown Man Arrested on Aggravated Assault Charges, License Plate Stolen in Farmbrook and More !
Cops, Courts & Fire -Bristol Township
Bristol Twp. School District Clothing Drive Does More Than Provide Attire, It Provides Stability for Students in Need
It is one thing to see a teenage student on their way to school wearing a “hoodie” on a cold winter day.
It is an entirely different image to see a child heading to school on that same cold winter day, not wearing a winter jacket. This is the very image Bristol Township School District and Police Department officials recently joined forces to fight with a significant financial contribution from philanthropist Gene Epstein
The school district said recently it has about 130 students experiencing serious stable housing challenges.
Dr. Meredith Leach School District Social Worker said, holding the drive and providing the needed clothing for students experiencing a period of housing displacement can and does offer not only clothing, but a sense of stability students need to thrive in class.
It’s no secret, Leach said, that a sense of stability leads to achievement. By providing basic needs, such as clothing, they (school district and police department) are trying to put their students in the best possible position to succeed and thrive, despite the housing challenges their families are facing.
Leach said families experiencing housing challenges and alike usually self-identify to the school district and fellow counselors and social workers system wide to coordinate resource support.
“The school district also offers school supplies, hygiene items and if we don’t have it in stock at our offices we order it online.”
“Sometimes something so minor to an outsider, like organizers for clothing drawers, for a student means the world because it gives them a sense of control over some of the life circumstances they’re experiencing.”
“We’re lucky enough to live in a county and state where services for students experiencing this kind of life challenge there are an array of services and resources available,” Leach said.
So lucky that neighboring businesses, such as Five Below in Tullytown, donated to the cause once the clothing drive was announced.
Credit: Joanne Ames – Lower Bucks Source
The Clothing Drive
Leach said the clothing drive idea came to fruition once she and her staff reviewed the numbers and realized about 130 students were in need.
In the human services field (i.e. social work) a measure of your professional success and community connection is always having that one yet-to-be used resource in your back pocket that social workers place on the table when faced with a potentially troubling situation, experts agree.
I saw a social media post from Neshaminy School District that said “we are filling our closets.”
Leach pulled out her “Ace Card” in the form of the Bristol Twp. Police Dept. Officer John Dobbs who in turn reached out to Epstein because they worked well together in the past.
The Epsteins donated to the cause as well as Walmart making a $500 contribution to the effort, Sgt. Jason Mancuso said.
We basically filled everything the school district needed for those 125 to 130 students, Mancuso said.
The Bristol Township Police Union (PBA) contributed a number of gift cards to the effort as well.
Leach in a moment of levity said of the clothing drive spending spree paid for by Epstein, “when do you ever get carte blanche to buy what you want as a social worker? Never!” She admitted to being a bit timid at first when selecting clothing items to purchase.
“Mancuso and Dobbs changed that for me. They grabbed boxes where I was grabbing packets,” she said, in joyous laughter.
The spacious school district office where the clothes are kept and distributed to school district social workers is filled with supplies for students now, thanks to Epstein giving Mancuso his credit card allowing Leach to spend thousands on students in need.
How could I not do it and live in good conscience, Epstein said.
“Those students were in immediate need,” he said “and it would take way too much time to set up a fundraising drive. Here’s my credit card and I don’t care what you spend. Get the kids what they need.”
Credit: Joanne Ames – Lower Bucks Source
“Whatever our students need we’re going to do everything we can to help them. We don’t want any of our students walking around with needs we can help them meet. I like to think we can help our students, and their families to be build a scaffold that they in turn can build upon.”
The response to the need by the Bristol Twp Police, the PBA and the Epsteins was amazing, Leach said.
The student-focused clothing drive officially launched February 2 and remains ongoing until the need no longer exists.
Any clean clothes, even if previously worn, can be dropped off at the Bristol Twp Police records department hallway or at the Bristol Township School Admin Building on Green Lane.
Opus Outreach Foundation joined the clothing drive shortly after it was announced. Items can be dropped off at Opus Elite Real Estate 119 Trenton Road, Fairless Hills. If you want to arrange a clothing drive donation you can call Christy Becker at 267 338-7518.
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