Bristol Council Awards Contract For Accessibility Improvements

Bristol Borough is continuing its efforts to install new curb ramps throughout the riverfront municipality.

Last week, Bristol Borough Council approved a $238,400 contract with NJS Concrete LLC for this year’s curb ramp project.

The project is contingent upon receiving authorization from the Bucks County Community Development Block Grant program.

According to officials, the project is the latest phase in the borough’s existing program to install curb ramps at intersections throughout town.

“Every year we get a block of money through the county, and every year we use the same money to do more curb ramps throughout town,” Council President Ralph DiGuiseppe said. “We had a pattern. We were doing the main roads, the safest roads to school for kids. So we’re now moving out into the other.”

The borough receives annual CDBG funding through Bucks County and designates it for curb ramp installations.

Officials have previously prioritized major thoroughfares and school routes.

Borough Manager Jim Dillon said the completion of all curb ramps is expected within the next seven to eight years at current funding levels.

“I think in another couple years, at the rate where the funding’s going, we should be able to complete the entire town within the next seven, eight years,” he said.

The project is to meet Americans with Disabilities Act compliance requirements while improving pedestrian safety and accessibility for residents with mobility challenges, parents with strollers, and other community members.

NJS Concrete LLC was selected through the borough’s standard bidding process for Community Development Block Grant-funded projects.

The borough’s engineering team determines the intersections for improvements each year.

The county’s Community Development Block Grant program provides funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for municipal projects that benefit low- and moderate-income residents and improve community infrastructure.

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