Newtown Borough Updates Public On LightPath, Gas Main Projects

NEWTOWN BOROUGH, PA — LightPath will not be laying its fiber optic lines through the borough, council officials announced at its June meeting.

During an update on the project, Council President Emily Heinz reported that the company is considering two alternate routes, both of which will bypass the borough completely.

LightPath provided an update on the project during a meeting held earlier this month with borough officials, State Senator Steve Santarsiero and State Rep. Perry Warren. Attending from the borough were Heinz, Mayor Tara Grunde-McLaughlin, and solicitor Greg Heleniak.

“They have a couple things they need to look into before they determine which of the alternate routes they will be taking, including whether or not they can get access to a private easement,” said the council president.

According to Heinz,LightPath plans to have a route chosen by the end of June depending upon the easement and any other issues they may have with permitting.

“But both options completely remove the borough from the project,” said Heinz. “And there was no, ‘Well, if we can’t find an alternate route.’ It was very much focused on using one of those alternate routes. That’s good news. We will have more from them by the end of the month.”

Earlier this spring, LightPath began installing its fiber optic cabling at the western end of Washington Avenue with plans to extend the work along the north side of Washington to State and then south on State Street to the Newtown Bypass.

The project, however, met with stiff opposition from Newtown Borough residents who called on the company to find an alternative route fearing the work could damage historic properties and do irreparable harm to the town's trees.

LightPath officials agreed to investigate alternative routes, but said it would need the assistance of elected officials to expedite the process.

PECO Project Update

There’s light at the end of the tunnel for South State Street residents and business owners who have had to deal with the PECO gas line installation project for the past year.

Heinz said trench revitalization, street milling and repaving is tentatively scheduled to begin the week of July 6. Once it begins, work will take between seven and 10 business days to complete, said Heinz.

Heinz said the subcontractor doing the work will be notifying impacted property owners when a final schedule is solidified.