The reconstruction of Little League Boulevard between Mulberry and Walnut streets in Williamsport is about to begin. The busy stretch of the boulevard will be milled and repaved over the course of the next few weeks.

Bill Scott, city engineer, presented a resolution to the City Council which awarded reconstruction of the street to Glenn O. Hawbaker Inc. for $752,332, the lowest of three bids received as the city plans to utilize Community Development Block Grant funds to cover the reconstruction expense.

The project budget is $817,814 bringing the cost for reconstruction lower by $65,500, Scott said.

“It’s all good news,” he said.

The city estimate for the project was $748,000, he said.

SEDA-Council of Governments, Lewisburg, will review the bid. Livic, the design consultant, also reviewed the bid.

Hawbaker has done the paving in the city over the past two years, Scott said.

“We work with them, and are very familiar with them,” he said.

Timing is of the essence, Scott added, as it is nearing the end of the construction season.

“It’s going to be pushed, and will be a busy month or month and a half of work,” he said.

The funding deadline also is coming up toward the end of the year.

“That is the other big push, because of the CDBG funding,” Scott said.

“We found out there is a concrete roadway underneath … it is covered with asphalt,” Scott said.

“We are going to mill that off,” he said. ” It varies with a couple inches of paving. “We have to do a lot of concrete base repairs throughout isolated areas.

“We will have to (saw) cut that, remove it, and put back new concrete that will …. be reinforced.”

The boulevard is very bumpy with a lot of rough areas,” he said.

“We are going to probably repair that and the subbase,” he said.

“We are going to use a paving fabric, base asphalt and wearing asphalt,” he said.

It will be a very smooth, brand new road, nothing like what is out there now, he noted.

Council Vice President Eric Beiter, chairman of the economic revitalization committee, said he appreciated the work done on this.

In another bit of business, council approved the annual James David Robinson Cultural Arts Grant Program of $3,000.

The money will be split in $600 installments to the Community Arts Center, Williamsport Symphony Orchestra, Repasz Band, Bald Eagle Art League and the Billtown Blues Association.