Taylor Harris, 29, was pleasantly surprised when she arrived at the Walmart at the Village at Pittsburgh Mills on Friday morning.

“I think not ripping the bottom of my car out makes it easier to spend money,” Harris said.

The New Kensington woman took an Uber to the store out of fear of her car being damaged by the large potholes the Mills complex has become known for.

“We call it crater field,” she said.

Those craters were noticeably missing on some main roads around the complex Friday thanks to paving projects mall owner Namdar Realty Group has conducted in the midst of facing hundreds of citations from Frazer for poor road and sidewalk conditions, among other issues.

The owners were ordered to pay more than $17.6 million in response to poor road, sidewalk and door conditions at the mall complex, an Allegheny County judge ruled Nov. 18.

Judge Thomas Flaherty handed down the fines against the four limited liability corporations owned by Namdar that operate at the Pittsburgh Mills. They are Pitt Galleria Realty LLC, Pitt Realty LLC, Pitt Galleria CH LLC and Galleria Nassim LLC.

Crews from Lindy Paving last week paved Village Center Drive, which runs in front of Lowe’s, Ross and Aldi. Work continued onto Galleria Drive, which sits off the right of Pittsburgh Mills Boulevard, the site’s main entrance.

“They were costing people thousands of dollars. It’s horrible,” Harris said.

The potholes cost her friend a car when one of the craters ripped an oil pan from the bottom of the vehicle, said Harris, who had started avoiding the area as a result.

“(The paving) makes me more comfortable, more at ease, driving up here,” she said.

Jim Massack, 72, of West Deer started going to the Walmart in the Natrona Heights section of Harrison when the Mills potholes started getting out of control.

He said he’ll be bringing his business back to the Mills after seeing the paving work.

“It definitely made me more comfortable to come shopping here,” Massack said. “It was pretty intense coming here because of [the potholes]. You had to be very careful when traveling here because you could’ve damaged your car.”

Living so close, Massack said he was happy to be able to have his go-to shopping area back.

Barring successful appeals, the latest court ruling sees the mall’s owners facing nearly $29 million in fines over the condition of the property.

That’s in addition to criminal charges filed this year by the Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office for creating a public nuisance, a charge linked to the road conditions at the complex.

Alexandra Farone, representing Frazer, previously told TribLive that the township withdrew some citations given that a paving project was underway on Village Center and Galleria drives. The township also abated a few citations relating to high grass and weeds because they have been addressed, she said.

Frazer Zoning Officer Bill Payne previously told TribLive that any additional paving work would have to wait for better weather in the spring.

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