Officials air frustration over street damage in Charleroi

Representatives of Columbia Gas addressed their concerns at this week’s council meeting.

For months, residents and motorists in Charleroi have dealt with torn-up streets, detours and temporary repairs as Columbia Gas replaces aging infrastructure beneath borough roads.

This week, company officials appeared before council to provide a progress update — and heard mounting frustration from officials about how it has affected emergency response, local businesses and everyday travel.

Scott Waitlevertch, manager of government affairs at Columbia Gas, said two major projects are underway in the borough.

The McKean and Fallowfield project began in January, in advance of planned PennDOT paving, and has about 2,700 feet of main lines left to replace out of 14,500.

Of the 350 service lines in that area, 147 have already been completed.

The company expects the main line work to finish in October and service line connections by December.

A second effort, known as Charleroi West, began in July and has about 3,000 feet of main line installed out of 9,000.

“Service line work has not started yet, but it’s planned to start shortly,” Waitlevertch said.

Both the installation and base repairs are expected to be complete by the end of the year, though final paving will not take place until spring 2026.

“There is light at the end of the tunnel regarding our work here in the borough, at least on these two projects,” Waitlevertch said. “So we want to thank the residents for their patience. We know it has been an impact in the community, but we are maintaining a safe system. We are improving our reliability with these projects. We are investing in the borough through these initiatives.”

Mill and paving schedules, he added, remain a frequent concern.

“I know that is a question that is frequently asked as we head into the winter months, and state road sections will of course be determined by PennDOT. But local roads here that we have disturbed will have base repairs done for winter,” he said. “We will work with you, and should there be any problem with base repairs, we are planning to have the final mill and paving done in the spring of 2026.”

Councilman Jerry Jericho pointed out an issue on Oakland Avenue and Sixth Street where a water reservoir has created a hole.

“We will take a look, double check and take care of that,” Waitlevertch responded.

Mayor Greg Doerfler also commented on the quality of repairs.

“Where they have hot patched, it’s good, but the cold patch, it’s sinking. You hit them things, it’s bad,” he said.

Columbia Gas said patching has been done every Friday, but noted they could look into making it more frequent if needed.

While the updates outlined progress, officials voiced other strong concerns about how restorations are affecting the community, from businesses to emergency response.

Fire Chief Robert Whiten Jr. said road plates and patchwork repairs are slowing emergency response and damaging equipment.

“On a 25-ton fire truck trying to make calls, I’m sorry, but our equipment is all beat up,” Whiten said. “You’re slowing our response to those crossovers.”

He explained that ambulances and fire trucks often have to reroute — even going against traffic at times — to avoid rough crossings and steel plates, costing precious minutes. The jolts from uneven road cuts, he added, have damaged vehicles and caused equipment to shift during runs.

Whiten said construction crews have also made navigation difficult.

“Down on one of these blocks there wasn’t a machine doing anything, but everyone’s cars were parked down there. You can’t do that,” he said. “The crews need to park somewhere else. This has just been a headache. We have $5 million worth of apparatus over there and if something happens Columbia Gas or someone else is going to have to pay for it because we’re not.”

Columbia Gas acknowledged the complaints.

“We understand your frustration,” Waitlevertch said. “Certainly if there are specific issues let’s communicate more proactively so we can get them addressed.”

Whiten said he is more than frustrated — he is angry. He feels work and schedules have not been maintained as promised.

“Filling in holes every Friday is just not going to cut it,” he said. “I was told it would be every week and it was two Fridays after I moaned and groaned about it that they were filled, so it was two weeks of ruts and ruts. I understand you need to fix the gas lines, but some of the stuff going on is ridiculous.”

Doerfler raised a related concern about the plates heading into winter, warning that snowplows and salt trucks could be damaged if the temporary measures remain in place. The goal, company officials said, is to have all base repairs finished by December to avoid plates, but the borough would be notified if an emergency requires one to be used.

“We do understand the frustration,” Waitlevertch said. “But you know the next polar vortex that hits, the chance of any issues coming up will be significantly reduced because of the upgrades taking place in the community.”

There has also been an impact on small businesses.

Council President Kristin Hopkins said several shop owners have lost customers because of blocked parking or interrupted access.

“We have empty storefronts here. We want to keep the businesses that we have here right, and we want to keep them happy,” she said. “They are taxpayers here, and they provide services for all of us.”

Borough Manager Joe Manning described an incident on Fallowfield Avenue where drilling knocked out a merchant’s power, forcing a closure and costly emergency repairs. An open conduit from new piping also allowed rainwater to seep into the basement.

“The business owner was extremely upset,” Manning said. “They lost a lot of business that day … it was just an absolute mess of the situation.”

The outage also shut down printers and computer systems and forced the business to cancel operations during a busy holiday period.

Hopkins said that for a small business owner already dealing with flooding from an earlier project, the additional damage and financial strain was unacceptable.

“Upgrades of infrastructure are always a good thing, but it can’t be the possible sacrifice of a business owner,” she said.

Hopkins warned that other merchants have also been “treated unfairly” by subcontractors, citing cases where sidewalks or entrances were blocked without notice.

“Maybe you guys just take a closer look, because we’ve continued to have issues,” she said.

Waitlevertch promised follow-up, saying Columbia Gas would revisit those cases with Manning and others.

“I appreciate you raising those concerns,” he said. “We’ll do our best to get them addressed.”

Looking ahead, Councilman Larry Celaschi pressed the company for clarity on future projects. Columbia Gas engineers said no additional work in Charleroi is scheduled for 2025, though long-term plans could bring further replacement efforts in later years.

Waitlevertch emphasized that while the short-term disruptions are frustrating, the upgrades will leave the community with a stronger system.

“Over 400 folks are getting new service lines as part of these projects,” he said. “If these pipes weren’t being upgraded and a service line went bad, they’d have to fix it at their cost, which is probably four or five thousand dollars. Again, understand the frustration, but there are benefits.”

With work expected to continue into 2025 and final paving not scheduled until spring 2026, Columbia Gas pledged to complete service connections by December and keep roads stable through base repairs this winter.