Lansford Borough continues to deal with sinkholes opening along Patterson Street, or state Route 209, in the borough.

The state Department of Transportation notified the borough, which just had sinkhole repairs on the highway near Kennedy Park, of another one near Marco’s Pizza and the U.S. Post Office.

The hole is marked with orange spray paint, and a state official asked if the borough knew anything about the hole, which is about 12 inches deep and explaining that PennDOT doesn’t have drainage facilities in that area.

The state attached photos, including one from Google Maps in 2022, saying it appears to be an ongoing issue.

Council President Bruce Markovich responded to the email from the state, pointing out that the borough just hired a contractor to repair a hole on the state highway near Kennedy Park.

The contractor found that the sinkhole was not caused by a bad sewer lateral under the road, as previously believed, he said. Upon excavation, the lateral was found intact, but the concrete base under the asphalt road surface deteriorated, Markovich said.

He pointed out that a contractor hired by a private business also found a deteriorated concrete road base that had settled under the asphalt surface of the state road creating a gap that required seven cubic yards of flowable fill, he said.

Markovich believes the daily, heavy truck traffic and water infiltration from cracks in the highway surface is causing the concrete to crumble and settle into the soil below, causing the holes.

He believes the same factors are to blame for latest sinkhole, as the borough doesn’t have any underground utilities in the area, he wrote in a reply to the state.

“Since there is no change any utility owned by the borough can be causing this new sinkhole, the borough will not undertake any repairs,” Markovich wrote. “Please let me know your intentions of dealing with this new issue.”

Lansford does not yet have cost on the repair of the sinkhole on the state highway near Kennedy Park, he said.