It cost Pottsville $12,500 over two weeks to reconstruct the failing Hillside Rd., according to information released by the City.
The road was reopened on Thursday after being closed on July 30 when City officials determined the damage to it caused by erosion posed a serious risk to public safety.
Pottsville hired B&H Landscaping to repair two large sections of the eastern side of the roadway that were beginning to fall down an embankment overlooking S. Centre St. below. The road had eroded away to the point that guide rails on those sections had no ground beneath them.
The Pottsville-based company utilized its own labor and City-owned materials to complete the project. B&H Landscaping owner Bill Zeth previously told The Canary that 250 tons of material was used to reconstruct the failing roadway.
Large concrete blocks were used to rebuild a retaining wall that was failing to keep the winding mountainside road in place. Curbing was rebuilt in an attempt to prevent rushing water during heavy rainstorms from eroding the edge of the road.
Pottsville Administrator Ian Mahal says Alfred Benesch & Co., the city’s engineering firm, was brought in before the project started, during construction, and after it was completed to OK all phases of it.
“The City and its engineer is extremely satisfied with the quality repairs and non-stop repairs by B&H Landscaping, which allowed for a fast reopening,” the City says in a statement.
Large Commercial Vehicles Prohibited
Now that it’s reopened, the City is prohibiting large commercial vehicles from utilizing the road known locally as Hillside Rd., but is actually Cressona Rd. and Hotel St. on map apps.
The ban on these vehicles begins on Morris Ave. to the City limits at Calvary Rd.
Pottsville Bureau of Police and Fire Dept. are asking the public to dial 9-1-1 if they see a tractor-trailer using the stretch of road in or out of the city. Police say they’ll ticket motorists who ignore the prohibition of vehicles on that road.
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