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Sinkhole project delay will not delay road opening

A project to repair a recurring sinkhole in North Londonderry Township has hit a delay, but PennDOT officials say this won’t delay when the road reopens. ...

A project to repair a recurring sinkhole in North Londonderry Township has hit a delay, but PennDOT officials say this won't delay when the road reopens.  For the past two weeks crews haven't been able to work at the site after they ran into a problem with the rock that they were drilling into. PennDOT Spokesperson Mike Crochunis said work is still being done, just off-site. "We were able to drill for four of them, but for the fifth it was not acceptable. So we will have to have an additional Caisson in there. So that work is already being done they're already fabricating that Caisson they have the rebars getting delivered this week," said Crochunis. He expects the sub-contractor to be working on-site again next week. "We wanted to make sure we had something more substantial to build the roadway on  because we want the roadway to last years and years. This particular fix is much more permanent. We are basically bridging over the area."

PennDOT has had issues with the sinkhole for years. "We have been dealing with this since 2009, but it has been getting progressively worse," said Crochunis.

Crochunis said he expects the road to reopen on schedule, in early November. "It's a little bit of a delay but it shouldn't put a damper in the schedule of how long the road is going to be closed. That would be speculation at this point," said Crochunis.

Business NOT as usual
Kurt Yordy owns the Wash Basket Laundromat which sits along Route 422, just beyond the road closure. He said the project and detour has created more hardship for his business than he ever expected.  "We're down about 30-40 percent, and to me that is unacceptable. I don't think they did enough planning," said Yordy. He hopes Township officials put in a turning lane for people driving on East Maple Street to help relieve congestion and get some customers back. "It's our of our control really, but whatever we can do to slow it down a bit, the bleeding, the better," said Yordy.

 

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