Rostraver wants swifter state action on road issues

By CHRISTINE HAINES
chaines@yourmvi.com

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation says it will address a water problem on a section of Finley Road in Rostraver Township as part of the I-70 improvement project, but township officials say that isn’t soon enough.
Township manager Jeff Keffer said he had met with PennDOT officials and sent a follow-up letter regarding several problem road areas in the township and recently received a reply. Regarding three slide areas on Finley Road, PennDOT said they would be repaired as part of the I-70 project.
“They said the one by the Arnold City exit may be due to some type of water leak,” Keffer said.
Keffer said PennDOT didn’t claim any responsibility for the leak. Board of Commissioners’ President John Lorenzo said the leak needs to be addressed before someone is injured.
“They need to trace where the water is coming from. It’s not fair to the residents over there. Someone is going to get hurt,” Lorenzo said.
“We never had a problem until PennDOT did core drilling,” said Commissioner Devin DeRienzo.
“They say their core drilling wasn’t the cause of the issue, but there is a water problem there and they will alleviate it,” Lorenzo said. “There’s a leak somewhere and the water authority needs to address it.”
DeRienzo said PennDOT’s plan to address the issue during the I-70 project isn’t soon enough to keep residents safe.
“The problem is, they aren’t going to address it until 2022 or ’23 when the project starts,” DeRienzo said.
Solicitor Tim Maatta was directed to send a letter to PennDOT to spur action on the issue.

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