Lansdale Borough Council’s tough decision on whether to sink about $400,000 of federal COVID stimulus money into about $1.6 million in sinkhole repairs on four streets just got a bit easier, thanks to former councilman and current state Rep. Steve Malagari securing $1 million in Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development grant funds to address the problems.
“When infrastructure issues like these arise, they must be addressed immediately, before they become bigger problems,” Malagari said. “We need to fix the few sinkholes that are forming, but more importantly, address the stormwater management issues that are causing the water damage.”
At the Oct. 5 administration and finance committee meeting and the subsequent council work session, Borough Manager John Ernst detailed four urgent sinkhole issues and stormwater pipe deterioration problems in the borough that need to be addressed before the end of the year: Two on Ridge Street, one on Penn Street, and a fourth on Cherry Street, according to The Reporter. There is another sinkhole issue on Squirrel Lane, where stormwater is not flowing into the proper inlet.
According to the report, there was $1.78 million allocated to Lansdale Borough from COVID stimulus bills and the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. In December, council voted to use $312,000 to balance the budget to make up for lost revenues during the pandemic, per the report. With that budget figure, thus far, per the article, the borough is expected to spend $745,000 this year of the ARPA funds.
However, the borough cannot exceed $750,000 in one year. Initially, the estimated $1.2 million needed to fix the Squirrel Lane issue had been placed on hold, but Malagari’s grant will cover the costs.
Per the report, the Ridge Street sinkhole issues would cost roughly $213,000 to repair, the Cherry Street sinkhole is estimated at $150,000 for repair, and the Penn Street sinkhole cost is sitting at $70,000.
The sinkholes were created due to old pipes that have rotted and deteriorated below the roadway and sidewalks, exacerbated by heavy rains.
“Even though the $400,000 may not ultimately solve the problem,” warned council President Denton Burnell at the Oct. 5 meeting, “it sounded like it was going to at least help contain the problem … there’s holes in the ground and other situations that have to be dealt with … (the funding) may not solve all of the problem. It sounds like it won’t.”
One of the sinkholes will require at least 300 feet if pipe to be fixed to stop it from eroding, per the report. The Penn Street sinkhole, near The Silk Factory apartments, the corrugated metal stormwater pipe has deteriorated so badly that parts of the pipe have disappeared, which has led to stormwater leaking into the surrounding soil and deteriorating the roadway, per the report.
Ernst said in The Reporter article that there is no longer any pipe on the Penn Street sinkhole, just dirt.
“So, the bottom of the pipe is just completely corroded away, and as water comes through that storm line, it’s just going into the ground … That road becomes compromised, and starts to give way, and that’s when you start to see sinkholes open up above,” Ernst said.
The Cherry Street sinkhole near Pennbrook Avenue has been allowing water to drain into the hole and not into an adjacent stormwater inlet, per the report, and the Ridge Street sinkhole opened in the middle of an intersection.
Read more on the sinkhole issues and the stimulus funding plans and expenditures at this link.
See also:
Early Concept Plan Proposes 32-Unit Apartment Building at National Auto Location in Lansdale
Montgomery Township Receives DCED Grant for Whistlestop Park
Op-Ed: Stop the Sewer Sale, Vote Yes on Towamencin Government Study
Sinkhole Repairs an Ongoing Effort Lately for Lansdale Borough
Lansdale Approves Contract to Pave Freight House Parking Lot
