Next up for Sewickley Twp., repair roads and landslides damaged last year

Landslides and washed out roads have plagued counties across the region since early last year, and Lowber Road in Sewickley Township is not immune.

At the intersection of Lowber and Cool Springs roads, a gaping hole has impacted water lines, commute times and garbage pickup for several residents — a problem they have been dealing with since late summer.

“It’s just the sheer frustration that it’s just been left since September,” resident Ellen Kearns said. “We should have done this sooner and really complained, but it’s four houses. They don’t really care about four houses. But guess what? I pay my taxes just like anybody else.”

Kearns said she now has to drive more than six extra miles to get to her job at West Newton Elementary School, adding an additional 15 minutes to her commute.

The hole, which is on a state road, is filled with water that flows down Cool Spring Road. A crushed water line can be seen below fallen pieces of pavement and mud.

Across four counties — Fayette, Greene, Washington and Westmoreland — about 210 landslides were reported last year, according to PennDOT spokeswoman Valerie Petersen. So far, PennDOT has spent almost $3.5 million to fix 40 projects.

But motorists using Lowber Road have been left hanging for about four months.

“Sept. 10, my husband and I walked down just to see what the river was doing … and as we were getting right about here, he said, ‘Look at that crack,’ ” Kearns said. “Sept. 11, we came back down, the crack is way bigger, like you can put your hand in. It was just getting bigger and bigger.”

With the crack continually growing, PennDOT installed a temporary traffic signal, reducing traffic to one lane.

By October, PennDOT closed a portion of the road and started to work on a permanent fix, Kearns said.

However, issues with utilities and unforeseen soil conditions forced work to stop, Petersen said.

“We stopped work so that we could review the proposed repair with the additional information gathered,” Petersen wrote in an email.

At that time, the agency decided to hire an outside contractor to finish the project.

The contractor will start repairing the road this week. Petersen predicts the work will be done in about five weeks, barring further complications.

The cost to repair Lowber Road was not immediately available.

“Everybody’s been hit,” said Joe Kerber, Sewickley Township supervisor and roadmaster. “It’s been a record-setting rain year. You can’t fight Mother Nature. And, if you do, she usually wins.”

Megan Tomasic is a Tribune-Review
staff writer. You can contact Megan at 724-850-1203, mtomasic@tribweb.com
or via Twitter @MeganTomasic.