CSA secures last $1 million in funding needed to start work on Foustwell Tunnel

Beth Ann Miller, The Daily American
·3 min read

The Cambria Somerset Authority is moving forward with plans to complete the slip-line project at the Foustwell Tunnel later this year, now that a total of $2.6 million in funding has been secured and a contractor has been tentatively selected to do the work.

At their May 4 meeting, the authority’s board of directors learned that its $750,000 loan application with the Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority, aka PennVEST, was approved on April 19.

Then on Wednesday, Operations Manager Earl Waddell notified the board by email that a $300,000 grant application the authority applied for with the Appalachian Regional Commission was approved as well.

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This additional funding allows the authority to move forward with the estimated $2.2 million project, as they had previously secured $1.5 million in funding through a $708,640 grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration, an initial $250,000 grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission, a combined commitment of $458,640 from Somerset and Cambria counties and $188,000 of the authority’s own funds.

"(This) gives us the cushion we need for contingencies in this project," authority Chairman James Greco wrote in an email to the Daily American. "Thanks to the commissioners of both counties. Their contribution made this critical customer reliability project feasible. Also thanks to the Southern Alleghenies (Planning & Development Commission) for their assistance. They made the voluminous paperwork manageable."

Where is the Foustwell Tunnel?

The Foustwell Tunnel is a 2,300-foot section of the Quemahoning Pipeline that is located between Hollsopple and Seanor, in northern Somerset County. The tunnel is a vital, but problematic, part of the century-old pipeline, which transports industrial water from the Quemahoning Reservoir to business and municipal customers in Somerset and Cambria counties.

“The majority of the breaks in the Que line occur at Foustwell,” Greco told the Daily American in 2021 when discussing the need for the slip-line project.

Those pipeline breaks, in turn, create water supply issues for the authority’s largest customers, Competitive Power Ventures’ Fairview Energy Center in Jackson Township, Cambria County, and North American Hoganas, Gautier Steel and Liberty Wire, all in Johnstown.

The authority plans to hire a contractor to insert a 48-inch-wide plastic pipe inside the original 66-inch-wide steel pipeline to prevent future service disruptions.

Two bids for the work were presented at the May 4 board meeting by Dave Minnear of TranSystems Corp., the authority’s engineering consultant. The apparent low bid of $2,267,950 was submitted by Hogen’s Heroes, a company which also does business as J5 Construction and is located in Eighty Four, Washington County. The second bid of $2,319,150 was submitted by Ligonier Construction of Laughlintown, Westmoreland County.

The board then voted to award the contract to Hogen’s Heroes, subject to TranSystem’s review and final approval of the contractor’s bid proposal.

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Minnear said the authority’s goal is to have the work begin in September or October, to coincide with a planned shutdown period at the CPV Fairview plant. The work is then expected to take two or three months to complete.

Ames joins authority

Richard Ames, the authority’s incoming operations manager, attended his first monthly meeting with the board. He was hired in April to succeed Waddell, who plans to retire on June 30.

Richard Ames was hired in April as the next operations manager of the Cambria Somerset Authority.
Richard Ames was hired in April as the next operations manager of the Cambria Somerset Authority.

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Ames told the Daily American after the board meeting that he was looking forward to the challenge of managing the century-old Quemahoning Pipeline and the Cambria Somerset Authority’s five reservoirs.

“It’s (the Que pipeline) a neat operation, like a living history museum,” he said. “It’s very unique. It’s amazing to me how this work was done 100 years ago and it’s still in operation.

“You have to think outside the box a lot with this system, because it is old and unique.”

This article originally appeared on The Daily American: Cambria Somerset Authority secures funding, contractor for Foustwell Tunnel project