Contractor bids for the planned upgrade and expansion of Cranberry’s Brush Creek wastewater treatment plant came in well above their estimates, Township Engineering Director Jason Kratsas told the Township’s Board of Supervisors at its February 25 meeting. Construction of the project, which involves four separate contracts, was expected to have been around $41 million. But the bids received in early February exceeded estimates by more than $15 million. In response, according to Kratsas, experts were asked to identify those parts of the design which were most responsible for the higher cost so that plans could be revised. A series of changes including moving certain elements of the Phase I project into Phase II – which is not expected to be started for at least ten years after the conclusion of Phase I – together with modifications to certain other components of the project, are being considered to reduce its cost by at least $8 million. The board was asked to consider soliciting new bids at its March 3 meeting. For more information, contact Jason Kratsas, Director, Engineering