Residents urge township to repair Detwiler Road

UPPER POTTSGROVE » Residents of Detwiler Road are getting tired of waiting for the township to repair their crumbling thoroughfare.

A handful of residents of the sparsely populated road showed up at Aug. 20’s commissioner’s meeting to vent their frustration.

“I don’t know what else the residents of Detwiler Road have to do,” said John McMahon, who reminded the board he began warning them about problems on the road last year.

“I said then if the road was not repaired, major construction would be needed. The road has not had a major repair in 36 years,” he said.

And the recent hard rains have not done anything to improve the situation, McMahon said.

“Two school buses can’t pass each other any more the road has become so narrow,” said Dennis Kazinski. “So they drive on the

lawns and leave ruts in our lawns.”

Public Works Director Justin Bean said the crew had been trying to get there but the recent rains “have washed entire roads away” and they take priority.

“When I drove to the township building to complain, what do I see but a township truck and crew at (Althouse Arboretum) “messing with mulch rather than fixing a safety issue,” McMahon said.

What repairs have been made were wasted, said resident Charlie Albright.

The patches that were put down are already beginning to deteriorate because they were not paved over, said Albright, who said he built roads for a living before retiring.

“Driveways have been washed away and the stone the township put in to the ditch was just washed down the road into my yard,” he said.

Township Manager Carol Lewis said work on the road is estimated at $300,000 and the township has applied for a grant to pay for a good portion of re-building the road.

“There is a plan to deal with the stormwater issues

there,” said Lewis, adding that the re-paving would occur next spring.

“I can’t wait two months,” said an unidentified Detwiler Road resident. “Stones are flying off the road, something needs to be done now.”

“The road needs to be repaired now, not wait for

grants to come,” said McMahon.

Commissioners’ Chairman Trace Slinkerd said he would come out to take a look at the situation.

EVAN BRANDT — DIGITAL FIRST MEDIA Erosion on Detwiler Road, particularly at the top of the hill, is severe and has bypassed the storm gutter.

EVAN BRANDT — DIGITAL FIRST MEDIA In some places on Detwiler Road, the drainage is so poor that pools of water remained trapped in the wake of a storm the following day.

Resident Charlie Albright, who built roads for a living before, said the township’s failure to repave Detwiler Road after this attempted repair means the repair is useless and it is already coming apart.

Another partial repair by Upper Pottsgrove Township on Detwiler Road.