Angry Residents Demand Answers About Buckled Road In Avalon
AVALON (KDKA) -- Casey Timpani is frustrated.
"I'm angry," said Timpani, standing in front of her home in Avalon Borough. "I want to park in my driveway; I want this road fixed."
Timpani has not been able to park her car in her driveway since Christmas, after a water main break damaged South Birmingham Avenue.
There are barriers on the street that buckled, and are uneven, and there are 'Do Not Enter' signs at the ends of the adjoining alley. Timpani now parks her car in the alley beside her home.
"There's no maintenance," said Timpani, referring to the snow- and ice-covered alley. "There's no salt trucks that come down here."
"We've set up some contingency plans, which again, is a major inconvenience to the residents," said Avalon Borough Manager Harry Dilmore, "but we can't have anybody driving on that street, because of the condition that it's in."
Dilmore says he is well aware of the problem. The challenges are time because patch companies are closed until the spring, and money because the cost of the repair is expensive, about $300,000.
Dilmore added, "With it happening on Christmas Day, there's really no relief until April. Even if Avalon Borough had a big pile of money sitting here, we couldn't pay to replace that street until April."
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Dilmore says they've submitted a claim to West View Water Authority, who owns the main that broke on South Birmingham, and they're waiting to hear from them. There's even a link on the Avalon Borough website for residents to contact West View Water Authority for updates about South Birmingham.
"We've submitted our paperwork and we're waiting for the results on that to go through," said Dilmore.
"I just want a date that they're going to fix it, and how are they going to pay for it," said Timpani, "I just want this information."
The director of administration for West View Water Authority, wouldn't do an on-camera interview, but said she didn't receive an estimate from the Avalon Borough manager until Wednesday afternoon, after KDKA went to her office.
She says they'll now contact their insurance company to have an adjuster determine their amount of responsibility.
