MOUNT CARBON - In the past week, state Department of Transportation workers have been patching the potholes on the stretch of state highway at South Centre Street and Mount Carbon Arch Road.
"I think it was just two days ago. That's because the rebar was sticking out," Michael W. Glauda, who co-owns Goodfella's Entertainment Complex at 1105 S. Centre St., with his wife, Deborah A., said Wednesday.
Ed Welsh III, Pottsville, said Wednesday that the pothole-ridden underpass makes impressions not only on motorists, but their vehicles.
"A couple years ago, I broke a rim over there on a Cadillac," Welsh said.
And he and Glauda would like to see it repaved.
But PennDOT has no plans to pave it this year, Ronald J. Young Jr., press officer for PennDOT Engineering District 5, Allentown, said Wednesday.
"PennDOT has patched this area numerous times this winter season. Regular repairs and maintenance are planned this spring, but at this time no paving is planned," Young said.
The last time the state milled and paved the two-lane road under the railroad bridge was in 2009, Young said.
Mayor Jeffrey J. Dunkel has voiced numerous concerns about the strip to PennDOT. He anticipates traffic there will increase later this year, when the state starts to replace the Mady's Bridges in Pottsville and Palo Alto might also frustrate motorists, Spotts said.
PennDOT is replacing the two bridges in Pottsville and Palo Alto after they were deemed structurally deficit in 2001 due to abutment issues. The $10,568,416 project awarded to Glenn O. Hawbaker Inc., State College, is slated for completion in August 2017.
"There's going to be increased traffic with that bridge project. It's a state road, so our hands are tied. We'd like a more permanent solution, because the patches on the potholes don't last very long. They were there the other day and some of the patching they put down is already coming up," Dunkel said Wednesday.
One of the reasons why there are potholes a plenty under the railroad bridge at Mount Carbon Arch is moisture and a problem with drainage, Young said.
"Water runs off the mountain along the curbs and freezes and thaws. This is a shaded area that rarely gets any sunlight to help thaw or dry out which also contributes to the potholes," Young said.
"The drains block up by the bridge," Welsh said.
The state is not responsible for the drainage in the Mount Carbon Arch area, Young said.
"Drains located within the borough are the borough's responsibility," Young said.
Quoting Chapter 8 of the PennDOT Maintenance Manual, Young said, "In accordance with curb to curb policy, local municipalities are generally responsible for storm drainage facilities" and "parallel pipes and curbing required for the storm sewer system are the responsibility of the local municipality."