A $742,657 project to overlay portions of Pecan Avenue utilizing federal stimulus funds is temporarily on hold because MDOT wants the city to spend about $90,000 moving utility poles.
City officials were able to convince MDOT to allow utility poles to remain along Railroad Avenue, which is also included in the overlay project.
"Now we are working on trying to get that same stipulation done for Pecan Avenue," said Mayor James Young, noting that the city had hired Waggoner Engineering to work on the project.
"Our assertion is the streets have been here for years with no problems with safety issues," Young said.
John Burt, manager of Philadelphia Utilities, said moving the utility lines would be costly.
Burt said if the lines are moved a couple of feet back off Pecan, they would be in the middle of the sidewalk.
"That's not workable," he said.
The city would have to purchase right-of-way to go further.
"It makes it complicated," he said.
The city was awarded $262,074 under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in addition to its normal Surface Transportation Program distribution, which was $400,556.
Pecan Avenue, from Columbus Avenue to near Northside Park, was deemed a top priority for repaving earlier this year by the previous administration.
The project will entail 2.5 miles and include the repaving of Herman Alford Memorial Parkway west to the railroad crossing at a total cost of $677,200.
The city will utilize the remainder of the funds to repave .3 miles of Railroad Avenue from Rea Street to Wilson Street at a cost of $65,457.
The city is required to fund the design engineering on the Pecan Avenue project as part of the STP match at a cost of about $165,000.
Waggoner Engineering is also in negotiations with MDOT about extending the paving project down Herman Alford Parkway, Young said.
