Latrobe hires consultant to study flooding at busy intersection
A consultant will delve underground in an attempt to solve Latrobe's habitual flooding problem at the intersection of Ligonier Street and Avenue A.
According to Michael Gray, public works director, a crew from Redzone Robotics of Pittsburgh will use a camera Monday to take images in a storm sewer that serves the problem area, in the hope of determining a cause.
Gray speculated that a collapsed pipe may be to blame in preventing water from properly draining into Sulphur Run, a tributary to Loyalhanna Creek.
“The water is trying to go in that way, but it can't for some reason,” he said. “It tends to pool and flood in that area.”
Gray said flooding has occurred in that area of Ligonier Street for decades.
“It's progressively gotten worse with the change in the climate,” he said. “It seems like we're always getting heavy downpours.”
Major rain about two months ago prompted the city to temporarily close the intersection as a potential traffic hazard.
“If you approach that and you don't see it and you hit that, it could be a safety issue,” Gray said.
Issues with two traffic signals on Depot Street have been addressed, at least temporarily, Gray told city council.
A signal at Depot and Alexandria streets frequently malfunctioned, reverting to a default flashing mode. That was fixed by replacing a control box.
A block away, large trucks turning from Depot onto Ligonier Street twice crashed into and bent a traffic signal pole in recent months. Gray expects a repair, covered by insurance, to be completed within 12 weeks.
Meanwhile, he said, the pole's condition was determined “not to be a safety issue. As a precaution, to keep the pole from being hit again, we placed some concrete barriers around it.”
Council agreed to delay its monthly agenda preparation meeting by one day, to 6:30 p.m., Oct. 24, so city officials can attend the Greater Latrobe-Laurel Valley Regional Chamber of Commerce annual dinner at St. Vincent College's Fred Rogers Center.
Jeff Himler is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at 724-836-6622, jhimler@tribweb.com or via Twitter @jhimler_news.
