Installation of Left-Turn Arrow Slowed by Red Tape

There is one final piece of red tape -- the annoying, double-sided kind -- standing between of a left-turn arrow at the intersection of S. Broad Street and Easton Road.

According to Aaron Sisler, the borough's engineer, the final permit from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation -- necessary for construction to begin -- should arrive "any day now."

The project, which will gift a left-turn arrow to motorists turning left onto Easton Road from S. Broad Street, is expected to be completed by July 2014, if not sooner.

To fund the project, Nazareth Borough was awarded a $5,000 grant from PennDOT under the Automated Red Light Enforcement (ARLE) program.

In April, the total cost of the project -- which would change the current three-light traffic signal to a five-light traffic signal -- was estimated at $11,175.

The borough anticipated a $6,175 payment to complete the project. However, an estimate submitted by Telco Inc. revealed potential problems with the existing light's timing mechanisms, according to Sisler.

Because of a variety of unknowns, on Sept. 4 agreed to pay Telco up to $10,000. Ever the optimists, the motion approved by Council notes the project could cost as little as $6,500.

Paul Kokolus, the borough’s secretary / treasurer, applied for the ARLE grant in 2010 and it was awarded in July 2011.

According to Kokolus, grant money must be spent within three years of the award, which means the funds from the ARLE program must be spent by July 2014, if not sooner.

At this time, Kokolus previously said in an e-mail to Patch, there is no established time frame of when the left-turn arrow will be installed.

Sisler also could not provide start or completion dates.