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Sinkhole may be vanquished for a reasonable price

Sinkhole may be vanquished for a reasonable price

With $80,000 estimate, conflict eases

The Beaver County sinkhole that ate a restaurant, threatened the stability of a busy state highway and spawned a slew of lawsuits may end its public career with a surprisingly cheap whimper.

Jim Struzzi, spokeman for District 11 of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, said engineers have come up with a repair plan that, if it works, would carry a price tag of about $80,000.




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"That's a much more likeable figure than the $2 million many people were talking about," Mr. Struzzi said.

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The sinkhole, which borders Route 65 in East Rochester, was caused by the failure of a vertical drain under the Evergreen Restaurant parking lot. Debris from that failure clogged the 12-foot culvert below. When the culvert backed up, it eroded the earth and created a sinkhole that eventually reached about 100 feet across and 60 feet deep.

The Evergreen was forced to close in September 2007 and was demolished four months later. As the hole widened, parking spaces were blocked off at the neighboring Pizza Hut and Hollywood Video store.

PennDOT installed wire rock baskets to stabilize the ground beneath Route 65, which was eroding because the culvert under the road was blocked.

Mr. Struzzi said the repair plan involves putting a hard cap over the break in the culvert, pulling the mud and debris out of its downstream end and inserting a liner through it. The original vertical drain will be eliminated, but the culvert should function once again.

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"We're fairly confident that it's going to work," he said.

That's a far cry from the situation earlier this year, when repair estimates were running into seven figures. Engineers then worried that unplugging the culvert from below would create a deadly surge of pent-up water. Discussion focused on diverting the water, excavating the culvert from above and replacing it.

With such a staggering price tag, the businesses involved balked at helping to pay for a repair. The state Department of Environmental Protection eventually issued a repair order to Evergreen owners Argyrios and Stella Apostolis.

The Apostolises sued East Rochester Borough and several neighboring businesses, claiming they were duped into allowing improper tap-ins to the vertical drain.

Then, in July, a heavy rainstorm finally did what engineers could not. It broke through the clog and re-established some water flow inside the culvert.

With confidence that the culvert is still intact beneath the highway and without the concerns about water pressure, PennDOT engineers were able to devise the new plan. Mr. Struzzi said its completion will depend on what crews find as they clean out the culvert, but all signs indicate that the plan should work.

The lower price tag has also loosened the logjam among the involved businesses. Mr. Struzzi said the Apostolises and the owners of Riverview Plaza and Pizza Hut have agreed to share the repair cost.

Beverly Block, attorney for the Apostolises, said they are still concerned about the loss of their restaurant -- they opened a new one in Chippewa, but lost their old clientele -- and are concerned about the cost of filling the hole.

Mr. Struzzi said debris from the culvert would be dumped back into the hole, but it may fall on the Apostilises to reclaim the site. Mr. Struzzi said work is expected to begin in November.

First Published: September 23, 2009, 4:00 a.m.

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