PennDOT has awarded a contract to build a sidewalk along Mercer Avenue in Wheatland, but construction might not begin until the spring.

A PennDOT spokeswoman said the contract was awarded Oct. 11 but referred questions to Mayor Tom Stanton and Winslow Engineering Inc., Hermitage.

"You know something I don't know," Stanton said of a contract being awarded.

Dan Gracenin, assistant director of Mercer County Regional Planning Commission, said he was informed that PennDOT awarded the contract to J.C. Lee Construction and Supply, Petrolia.

The commission is administering a $212,000 PennDOT grant that will be used for construction.

Even though the contract has been awarded, the company is unlikely to get clearance to begin work soon.

PennDOT awarded a contract based on Lee's bid of $262,000, which was its proposal to build the sidewalk on the north side of Mercer from the existing portion at about Chestnut Street to Shenango Boulevard in Farrell.

The grant only will cover construction to Patton Avenue at the Farrell line.

The scope of the project and quantity of materials need to be altered to reflect the amount of money available, Gracenin said.

Negotiations on these issues cannot begin until the contract is signed, he said. Otherwise, bidding laws would be violated.

"My understanding is it could be a month or 45 days," for PennDOT to sign, Gracenin said.

"I'm thinking it's too late in the season," he said of starting construction this year. "Unless we get good weather, it will be next spring."