Solution sought for Fox Stop Road closure

By TAYLOR BROWN
tbrown@yourmvi.com
Nearly a dozen residents who live on closed Fox Stop Road in Fallowfield Township could see relief by the end of this year.
On Wednesday, Supervisor Earl Sadler gave an update on the road, which has been permanently closed since January after severe weather caused a significant shift in the roadway.
Sadler said the problems with Fox Stop date back more than a decade ago but began showing significant slippage last year.
Currently, the problem lies on the north end of the road off of Old Route 71, where there is a 40-foot long lateral crack running along the edge of the roadway and a nearly 18-foot drop.
“The road is still moving laterally but not dropping quite as far down,” Sadler said. “There has not been an excessive amount of movement, not near as much as when it first started.”
For the past three years, the township has been trying to preserve the road in a cost-efficient manner using stones and other methods. It was black topped a few months ago.
Residents and senior citizens have frequented supervisor meetings over the past several months complaining about the detour used to access their homes and searching for answers to the ongoing problem.
There now seems to be some light at the end of the tunnel.
Sadler and supervisors Bruce Smith and Joseph Sopchak approved Geo-Mechanics Inc., an Elizabeth-based company, to do a geotechnical study of the road at a cost not to exceed $12,000.
The study will use core drilling to determine a solution.
“Right now we have no other way of finding out how to repair that road other than to find out where the base is,” Sadler said.
The base of the road, where shelf rock resides, could be up to 30 feet below ground.
The company will use special equipment to drill under the road to determine where the shelf rock is located.
Depending on the depth, there are three different solutions that could be used to fix the road, Sadler added.
“This is the start to see what exactly this project will take,” he said.
Core drilling will likely be completed in September. Once a solution is determined, the project must be put out for bid, which will likely happen before November, he added.
Depending on the work needed for the road, construction and repairs could happen before or during winter months.
Despite progress towards a permanent fix, drivers must continue to use a 2 1/2 mile detour to access their homes by turning on to Kennedy Road, located on the south end of Fox Stop Road.
“We know this has been causing a headache for a lot of our residents,” Sadler said. “It has been a headache for us, too, and we are hopeful the core drilling and geotechnical study will get us one step closer to solving this problem.”

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