BELLEFONTE — In fall 2022, a partially collapsed wall in Bellefonte wreaked havoc on traffic in the borough.
On Nov. 12, the wall under the road along Spring Creek collapsed. Northbound traffic was detoured to Stoney Batter and state Route 144/South Spring Street. The road was closed until PennDOT could get a temporary fix. That temporary fix has been in place throughout the winter.
Bellefonte borough Manager Ralph Stewart reflected on the repair process.
“It’s a PennDOT project. PennDOT did the temporary repair around Thanksgiving,” Stewart noted. “At that time, the amicite plants were closed, so they had very little options, other than doing a temporary repair.”
However, a permanent repair is in the works, Stewart said.
“I’ve seen various permitting processes going through with PennDOT. For example, there’s a ‘local streams’ permit. Even PennDOT has to go through and get permission to work close to the stream. I saw that go through via email,” Stewart said.
According to Stewart, the plan for permanent repair is to “duplicate the concrete walls” that are already in place.
“(Those) concrete walls that are adjacent to the stones that fell out … they call them gabion baskets. That’s the section that collapsed. The permanent plan involves putting in a concrete wall, support wall. They’ll match the color on site to the adjacent concrete walls,” Stewart said.
So, while a permanent solution is coming, Stewart doesn’t know when.
“At this point, I have not heard of the timeline … when the contractor is coming in. Just like any governmental entity, they’ll bid the project, pick a contractor and the work will be scheduled. I assume this spring, but we haven’t heard the dates yet,” Stewart said.
According to PennDOT officials, erosion below and behind the wall from high water in the creek is believed to have been the cause of the collapse.
Once PennDOT begins the permanent repair, the road will likely be closed again and traffic will be detoured.
“I would say yes to that. I haven’t been given notice of the timeframe. But, yes, I fully expect a detour while the permanent repair work is being done,” Stewart said.
While the permanent repair is being made, detours will be in place once again. The borough will update residents when that occurs.
“We’re waiting on PennDOT,” Stewart said.
Repair updates can be found on the Bellefonte Borough website at bellefonte.net.
