WASHINGTON TWP — Supervisors have secured a loan to improve a road used by commuters to Iron Mountain.

The township was awarded a loan of $300,522 for the superpaving of Old Brick Road, according to a legal notice.

The loan came from Pennsylvania Infrastructure Bank with an interest rate of 2.25 percent, according to Amy Cousins, township secretary.

Cousins said most of the damage she has seen to the road has been from normal wear and tear. She said the road is popular side route to Route 38 and for many local job sites.

“This is one of the main roads that run through our township to the underground mines,” Cousins said. “Also, it is one of the main arteries from Route 38 to (Iron Mountain.)”

Randy Smith, township commissioners chairman, said the road has been repaired before.

“The road has just been getting in bad shape through the years,” he said.

Smith said the loan will help them remove a project that has marred their agenda for the past few summer seasons.

“We started two or three years ago, doing pieces of it. We did about $50K a year,” Smith said. “We did two different pieces of it. We decided, with a low interest loan, to do it all.”

Smith said about 3 inches of pavement will be placed over the entire road.

“We're putting a 19 mm base on it, and then we're sealing it,” Smith said.

He said last year, the township paved two sections of the road, before he saw something that caught his eye.

“Last year, asphalt was at the cheapest level that it was,” Smith said.

Smith said the market prices made him think it was the right time to borrow and complete the project. He said money could be saved, but the market has changed.

“The price of oil has shot up,” Smith said.

He said rising oil prices could translate to asphalt prices too. The 5 percent savings he anticipated is hanging by a thread.

“(We) may lose that savings,” he said. “My whole life has always been that way. I've always been a day late and dollar short.”

Despite the adversity, Smith said the work still needs to be done, and if they wait any longer, only more problems will arise.