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Residents respond to flooding in McDonald

3 min read
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Karen Mansfield/Observer-Reporter

Residents of McDonald borough turned out Thursday for a meeting to discuss flooding in parts of the borough along Route 980, near the site of construction on the state Turnpike Commission project to extend the Southern Beltway.

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Gideon Bradshaw/Observer-Reporter

Bryan Pavan placed orange netting and cones to cordon off a mud-coated section of the parking lot of his Napa Auto Parts store in McDonald Monday morning.

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Observer-Reporter

The file photo from 2018 shows the intersection of Route 980 and Johns Avenue in McDonald.

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Karen Mansfield/Observer-Reporter

Brad Heigel of the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission addresses residents of McDonald who have been affected by flooding on Route 980.

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A resident of McDonald complains he has been flooded three times.

More than 60 flood-weary McDonald residents turned out Thursday for a special meeting at the borough building to discuss flooding along the borough’s Route 980 corridor, near the site of ongoing work on the state Turnpike Commission project to extend the Southern Beltway.

Part of McDonald was hammered with the latest of several bouts of flooding in less than a week when more than 1.5 inches of rain doused the borough Wednesday night.

The storm was the latest in a series of heavy rains that sparked complaints from residents and business owners about flooding.

The meeting, organized by state Rep. Jason Ortitay, R-South Fayette, brought together residents and representatives from the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, state Department of Environmental Protection, state Sen. Camera Bartolotta, R-Carroll, and local officials.

Brad Heigel, a chief engineer for the Turnpike Commission, apologized to residents for the flooding and said the commission is working to resolve the situation.

“None of us really want to be here tonight, none of us wanted these events to occur, so the first thing I want to do is apologize,” said Heigel. “We’re making strides. It’s not an easy project.”

According to Heigel, the turnpike has been exploring several solutions to ease flooding and will implement a plan within a week-and-a-half to two weeks.

Joseph B. Fay Co. is handling construction on the roughly three-mile stretch from the Panhandle Trail to Cecil Reissing Road under a $90.6 million contract it executed with the state Turnpike Commission early last year.

The state Department of Environmental Protection said Monday it had sent staff to the area Sunday and was coordinating follow-up inspections with the Washington County Conservation District.

Several residents voiced frustration about the flooding, and the resulting loss of property and the labor and cost of cleanup.

Cecil Township supervisor Ronald Fleeher asked the turnpike commission to resolve the flooding problem quickly, citing the hardships McDonald residents have endured.

“We go home at night, we’re in nice, dry houses. These people are sleeping in cars and garages and they’re scared to death,” said Fleeher.

Caryll Linck, who works at NAPA Auto Parts, 161 S. McDonald St., said the owner had to pressure wash the parking lot and squeegee mud out of the back room early Thursday.

Mud also coated the business Monday morning, after heavy rain Friday turned Route 980 into a river. Johns Avenue was closed at one point Sunday night, and Linck said it flooded again Wednesday.

“There were people coming through the mud on Johns Avenue,” she said.

980 Full Service Mart, which is on the highway just outside the borough in Cecil Township, was closed for several days earlier this week because of flooding Friday. Owner Mark Finney said he was spared this time.

“We lucked out,” he said.

Linck, who has a rain gauge at her home in the borough, said about an inch of rain fell in half an hour starting around 7:30 p.m., followed by another seven-tenths later that night.

McDonald resident Jeff Spalvieri said following the meeting he is not optimistic a resolution will be reached.

“Nothing was resolved tonight. They dodged a lot of questions,” said Spalvieri. “I think they need to stop construction and fix these problems before they continue on.”

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