Bridgeville wants to keep its brick streets
Bridgeville council is setting up a committee to work on preserving the town’s brick streets.
The borough’s remaining brick streets have lasted over 100 years. With a little care, the Bridgeville Area Historical Society said, the streets can easily last another century.
Representatives from the historical society received a positive response earlier this month when it asked for council’s help in preserving the streets.
Councilman William Henderson, who lives on Chestnut, a brick street, offered to serve on the preservation committee, saying he loves brick streets.
“I love and want to keep the brick streets,” said council President Michael Tolmer, who also lives on one.
Elm, Dewey and McMillan are among the other brick streets in the borough.
Councilman Nino Petrocelli Sr. said the previous borough manager advocated paving over the brick streets with asphalt.
“I opposed paving over the brick streets,” Mr. Petrocelli said. “I’m glad the current council wants to keep them.”
Bridgeville has a history of using bricks for streets.
C.P. Mayer, an early 20th century industrialist, coal mine operator and businessman, founded the C. P. Mayer Brick Co. in 1903 in neighboring Collier.
Many of the bricks used to pave the streets in Bridgeville and in other towns, including Pittsburgh, were made at his plant from clay excavated from nearby hillsides.
The bricks were so durable, the historical society pointed out, they
also were used for the track at the Indianapolis Speedway in Indiana and in the construction of the Panama Canal.
In addition to the brickworks, Mr. Mayer built the first commercial airport in Western Pennsylvania, now the site of the Great Southern Shopping Center. Among his other achievements was to help establish Bridgeville as a borough, publish a newspaper and serve in public office.
“C.P. Mayer is remembered because he accomplished things,” Mayor Pasquale DeBlasio said.
Mary Weise, president of the historical society, said Mr. Mayer brought jobs to Bridgeville and had vision. His industrial park, where the Westinghouse plant sits, once was home to Higbee Glass and Flannery Bolt Co.
The twin factors of preserving a part of Bridgeville’s heritage and the durability of the brick streets was enough to win over council.
Borough manager Lori Collins pointed out one obstacle to saving the bricks streets.
“We have a hard time finding bricks to replace the damaged bricks in the streets,” she said, but there are brick brokers who specialize in locating older paving bricks.