Lansford looks for cause of sinkholes
Lansford Borough continues to investigate the sinkholes along Route 209 near Tunnel Street, but its sewer tunnel isn’t the problem, a councilman said Tuesday night.
Councilman Joe Butrie reported during a public works discussion that the borough’s sewer tunnel underneath Patterson Street, which is the state highway, has no imperfections.
The borough spent about $1,800 to run a camera through the sewer tunnel under the highway from Tunnel Street to Sharpe Street, near the area where the last sinkhole opened, he said.
Butrie then met with representatives from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, which is responsible for the state highway, and showed them the video, he said.
“We discussed what possibly could be done, and I’m waiting to hear back from them,” Butrie said. “They said to give them about a week. They will get back to me on that, but there was no problem with the tunnel at all.”
With the sinkhole last year, PennDOT deferred to the borough to make the repairs, pointing to a leaking sewer lateral from a home as the cause after the borough checked its own line.
Council President Bruce Markovich asked about laterals coming from area businesses, where the sinkholes are on the highway.
Butrie reached out to the Turkey Hill, as one of the sinkholes lines up with their clean-out, and the business is going to camera its line to see if its lateral is broken, he said. He has not yet reached out to the owner of Marco’s Pizza, he said.
Markovich asked if they could dig to show PennDOT representatives the condition of the concrete under the blacktop. Several people have pointed to a crumbling concrete road base as the culprit for the sinkholes, and not the borough’s or residents’ infrastructure.
Butrie said they might be able to do that, but he wanted to wait to see what suggestions PennDOT had first. He expects to hear back this week or possibly next week.
Councilwoman Jennifer Staines asked about the borough’s camera for checking the sewer lines, and Butrie pointed out that the system is outdated. She suggested they look for a grant for a new camera system.