LANSFORD, CARBON COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — Safety concerns and lots of questions are being expressed on Monday by officials and residents of a Carbon County community regarding sinkholes that are appearing in that community.
Lansford council members reached out to the I-Team for help claiming their concerns were not being addressed by state officials.
The sinkholes, six altogether, are showing up on Route 209 which is a major connecting route between Carbon and Schuylkill Counties.
Borough officials say they are concerned about what's underneath these sinkholes and the potential danger they pose to anyone driving, walking, or living near them.
"There's voids underneath this highway and it's caused by deterioration of the concrete, the sub-base," said Public Works Director and Lansford Councilman Joe Butrie.
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Butrie and Council President Bruce Markovich say these sinkholes started appearing in the spring.
They repaired one of the sinkholes out of concern for public safety.
This is a photo of the void underneath that sinkhole located near Route 209 and West Patterson Street. The borough filled it with concrete.
"So far PennDOT is trying to push this responsibility to repair their highway onto the borough. We've done some repairs here because of the emergency nature of the situation..but we cannot afford to continue to repair the highway on PennDOT's highway for the borough," Markovich explained.
"The subbase is crumbling and that's what's causing these holes, but PennDOT should step up to the plate and come up and do something," Butrie stated.
Lansford officials say PennDOT has been in communication with the borough but has not indicated that the state will take responsibility for repairing these sinkholes. Terry Handlovic's home is just feet away from a sinkhole.
"When it originally started it was like this little thing. Tiny, tiny hole. Now look at it. It's not tiny and it's getting bigger and bigger," said Handlovic.
28/22 News reached out to PennDOT for comment on this report.
We may not get a response Monday since state offices are closed in observance of Veterans Day.
A spokesperson for state Senator Dave Argall tells 28/22 News the senator is aware of the situation and is looking into it.
We will have more on this story in the days ahead.
