Scranton plans a $6.4 million stormwater improvement project in the West Mountain and Keyser Valley area.
Mayor Paige Gebhardt Cognetti will seek Scranton City Council approval of a $6.38 million contract with RLE Enterprises for additional stormwater construction and upgrades in the Keyser Creek watershed, she announced Thursday.
The contract is expected to be on council’s agenda for its next weekly meeting Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. at City Hall.
The mayor said this latest project is part of broader flood mitigation work underway in Keyser Valley following catastrophic storms in recent years, including the devastating flash flood event of Sept. 9, 2023, and its aftermath.
This project calls for construction of a new Keyser Creek outfall and related stormwater improvements extending through several properties to the location of a “dry dam” above Briggs Street and Horatio Avenue. A dry dam temporarily holds and slowly releases runoff during times of heavy rain.
Recent storms underscored the urgency of the project. Last week’s heavy rain prompted several holdout residents to finally provide easements the city needed to do stormwater improvements.
“The work that we are doing in Keyser Valley includes some of the most important infrastructure upgrades our city needs,” Cognetti said in a statement. “We will never forget the severe flooding that residents experienced in September 2023 and the damage and uncertainty that followed. This project is a major step forward when it comes to protecting Keyser Valley families, homes, businesses and neighborhoods, as well as keeping our first responders out of harm’s way.”
Since August 2023, the city has advanced nearly two dozen stormwater and flood mitigation projects throughout the city. The administration has committed nearly $23 million of the city’s $68.7 million in American Rescue Plan Act funding to such projects, including work underway or planned in Keyser Valley, North Scranton, Tripp Park, Minooka and East Mountain.