Two major projects will get underway in the borough of Tamaqua this summer, according to borough public works director Jay Stidham.

Stidham told council this week that work on the crumbling Spruce Street railroad crossing should begin sometime in August.

“There is no confirmed date yet,” Stidham said, noting that the Reading and Northern Railroad plans to fix the crossing before school begins.

When construction starts, Spruce Street will be closed for a week, he said.

The other project involves paving routes 209 and 309 in the borough.

“We don’t have a specific start date for the paving project but the contractor told PennDOT it is going to be at the end of the month,” Stidham said.

The Route 209 paving will extend to Coaldale.

Stidham said contractors are seeking permission to pave the portion between the boroughs during daytime hours.

The Route 309 work, Stidham said, will be completed at night.

The project includes base repair, milling, paving, handicap accessible ramps and new pavement markings.

In an unrelated matter, Stidham said that streetlight replacements are ongoing.

More bulbs were delivered to the borough Tuesday and should be installed soon.

A manufacturing defect is causing the lights to turn purple. The lights will be replaced and installed at no cost to the borough.

“I’ll prepare the next list and keep going with it until all the purple streetlights are gone,” Stidham said.

During his report to council, Stidham also noted that a new sport utility vehicle was delivered to the Tamaqua Police Department Tuesday.

The vehicle, which was outfitted for the department, was originally expected to cost about $61,000 but came in about $6,400 less.

Council also approved the sale of the department’s 2007 Crown Victoria for $900 and its 2013 Interceptor for $6,250.

In other police news, council approved a request to send Sgt. Thomas Rodgers to Defensive Tactics Instructor Training in Wilkes-Barre from Aug. 14-19 for $875. With the training, Rodgers will be able to instruct other borough police officers, council President Brian Connely said.

Additionally, council approved sending Officer Karl Harig to an upcoming National Sexual Assault Conference in San Fransisco. Councilwoman Kathy Kunkel said that the $2,002 fee will be covered by a grant received by the department from the Rural Violent Crime Reduction Initiative, which assists law enforcement agencies with reducing violent crime and addressing problems associated with it.