Stream restoration work being done along Powers Run Road in O'Hara
It’s not a park that’s going in at the corner of Freeport Road and Powers Run Road, but a sewerage line and stream restoration.
“No park,” said O’Hara Township engineer Charles Steinert.
The ongoing work is a two-part sewer and stream restoration Powers Run Sanitary Sewer Relocation and Stream Restoration Project, expected to be completed in early 2024.
“The land is township land now, about 14 acres adjacent to Shafer Park,” Steinert said.
The $517,000 project is being paid for with township funds and a $100,000 state grant. Work began in October, contracted by All Phase 2 of Pittsburgh.
Crews are removing an old concrete culvert pipe way past its prime and opening the stream up to a natural channel that will flow into the Allegheny River, Steinert said.
“The old pipe reached the end of its life and was failing in multiple places. It’s estimated to be more than 60 years old,” Steinert said.
The sewer element of the project involves relocating lines previously impacted by flooding in the area.
“We had two instances of flooding where the existing sanitary sewer was washed out,” Steinert said.
A new 12-inch pipe is scheduled to be installed underneath the new stream bed.
The township maintains about 59 miles of sanitary sewer lines.
Steinert said final seeding/landscaping is scheduled to take place in the spring of 2024.
The project has not affected traffic on either roads, Steinert said.
Joyce Hanz is a native of Charleston, S.C. and is a features reporter covering the Pittsburgh region. She majored in media arts and graduated from the University of South Carolina. She can be reached at jhanz@triblive.com
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