Supervisors Approve Emergency Road Repair Bid

A bid to make an emergency repair on the culvert located in the intersection of Strathmann Drive and Churchville Road was approved unanimously at the Tuesday night's Upper Southhampton Board of Supervisors' meeting.

Emergency repairs on the 90-foot-long culvert was needed after heavy rainfall in the region early September made a 5-foot sinkhole and caused excessive flooding in neighboring residences.

According to Township Engineer Wayne Kiefer, the $120,000 repair contract will include adding additional inlets to the culvert to allow extra water flow, as well as expanding the 36-by-48 inch core pipe by almost 25 percent.

“The [increased pipe] will definitely hold a significantly higher load of water,” said Kiefer.

Flooding has been a constant problem for several of the residents who attending Tuesday night's meeting.

Thomas Dinora Jr, of Willow Street, said he and his fellow neighbors regularly see 7 to 8 inches of flooding on their street after almost every heavy rainfall.

“[The flooding] has gone from just a nuisance to a threat … it's gotten to the point that anything not nailed down [in the yard] will get up and float away,” he said.

Dinora, who has lived at his residence for almost 30 years, is thankful to have had no major property damage from the flooding.

“It's on the the horizon, it's there .. it's getting worse," he said. "The regular flooding has gotten to the point where when the rain gets heavy I just want to be at my home [to watch over it].” 

The $120,000 repair contract on the culvert was awarded to construction company James D. Morrissey, Inc.

While the bid has been awarded, the project is currently in a temporary limbo. Township Solicitor Donald Williams said some of the culvert's inlets are on private property and the township needs the approval of two property owners in order to begin the repairs.

According to officials, once both of the homeowners sign off on the project, the project will take approximately 35 days to complete.