Crews are monitoring a sinkhole in Johnstown. The sinkhole opened up around 9:15 on Friday night on Clover Street in the Moxham section of the city.
Crews with Public Works have been repairing the hole since 7 a.m. Monday. They expect repairs to take one to two days.
Workers say they will fill the sinkhole with gravel, but they don’t plan to re-pave it yet because sewage project workers will be digging up the street starting July 10th.
Heavy rain last week caused the sinkhole to open up. Wesley Herbert saw it happen and said he’s shocked no one was hurt.
“How lucky people were around here. Kids weren’t playing basketball at that hoop. Kids were riding down the street. Nobody drove their car into it,” Herbert said.
Donald Mclean lives near the sinkhole. He said road conditions in Moxham have been bad for awhile.
“Some of the potholes are like 6,7,8 inches in some of the alleys. They’re main alleys that people use to go to work, try to work on their houses,” said Mclean.
Other neighbors said they’re worried about the road’s foundation and believe it’s just a matter of time before another spot caves in.
“They’re just putting a bandaid on it. It’s going to get worse,” Mclean said.
The pothole issue has been addressed by Johnstown city officials, including in a May 30th letter from council members and during last week’s city council meeting.
“There are people suffering car damages and we’re all aware of the one resident with the broken foot. Do you have any idea when the streets in Moxham, particularly Clover Street, Cleveland Street will be getting patched for the potholes?” said Councilwoman Charlene Stanton.
As for Herbert, he said all he can do it wait and hope the city takes action soon.
“Hopefully it’s a wake-up call for the city. I know they’re strapped for money, I understand that. But it’s a wake-up call. Somebody’s going to get hurt,” said Herbert.
