Turnpike officials progressing on flood-control plans near McDonald
State Turnpike officials said they’ve installed additional controls near a construction site just outside McDonald as they prepare a plan for “permanent controls” to address flooding that’s harried locals since last year.
Turnpike Commission spokeswoman Renee Colborn said “the new plans will involve attempting to purchase affected properties and obtaining permits to do the additional work, which will take several weeks.”
“In the meantime, we will have crews on hand at every storm event to take care of any issues that occur due to potential flooding,” Colborn wrote in an email.
Just outside the borough in Cecil Township, Joseph B. Fay Co. is building a bridge that will span Route 980 as part of work on a 3.2-mile section of Southern Beltway between the Panhandle Trail and Cecil Reissing Road under a $90.6 million state contract.
It’s part of a project that will connect the Findlay Connector and Route 22 in northern Washington County with Interstate 79 near Southpointe using 13 new miles of cashless toll roads.
The most recent flood in the borough on July 2 followed a pattern that goes back to after work at that site began in the spring of 2017. Local residents have repeatedly complained of muddy runoff that’s inundated houses and businesses following heavy rains scientists said are becoming increasingly common as Southwestern Pennsylvania feels the effects of climate change.
Videos taken from one of several floods last month showed water rushing down Route 980 and bypassing inlets along the highway. More than 60 upset residents packed a town hall meeting with Turnpike and state Department of Environmental Protection the following week.
State Rep. Jason Ortitay R-Cecil, who organized the meeting, said earlier this week he thought the meeting helped highlight the urgency of the situation for state officials.
“I do think we’re coming to a close here (on solving those problems),” he said.
Among the measures Colborn said the commission took before the “latest rain event” – a July 2 deluge that once again sent muddy runoff into some homes and businesses near Route 980 – were modifications to inlets and silt socks and sandbags to direct water into them.
The commission also performed cleaning and restoration along Route 980 by welding a manhole lid that was popping off during heavy rain, installing a temporary retention pond and adding more water bars at the access road and work area under the bridge.
“Some of these measures were washed out by the heavy rains, which resulted in the decision to attempt to buy properties affected,” Colborn added in an email.
DEP spokeswoman Lauren Fraley said the temporary basin discussed at last month’s town hall meeting is now operational.
The agency sent orders of compliance to owners of two properties on either side of Johns Avenue requiring they clear or replace a clogged culvert that runs under Johns and South McDonald Street. The agency determined the culvert has contributed to flooding of neighboring homes and streets.
“DEP has and will continue to work with the Washington County Conservation District to conduct regular and as needed inspections of the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission Southern Beltway construction site and the properties subject to the compliance orders,” Fraley said. “DEP may pursue additional enforcement actions if it determines those actions are warranted.”