Star City Public Works Director Phillip Davis isn’t typically one to say, “I told you so.”
But the truth of the matter is, he did tell them so.
Two years ago, when a crew with the West Virginia Division of Highways was finishing up repairs on a sinkhole in the parking lot of the former Texas Roadhouse location (now Mountain State Brewing), Davis pointed out that a nearby DOH stormwater outlet was going to be a problem.
“He said they’d take a look at it, but it never got any farther than that,” Davis said.
And so, over the last two years or so, water flowing down Monongahela Boulevard has been collected, channeled beneath Star City’s North Main Street and dumped at the road’s edge.
The soil supporting North Main has slowly eroded away until a portion of the asphalt surface is now suspended in air over an open cavity.
“There’s supposed to be an extension on that pipe; probably a 20-foot extension. It’s what we would call an ‘elephant trunk.’ The purpose is to take that water and release it farther down the hill away from the road,” Davis said, explaining the extension separated at some point years back and was never replaced.
“They installed all of that and they were made aware of the situation roughly two years ago. Now we’re at the point where that road is going to start caving in. It’s become very, very dangerous,” he said. “That’s where we stand right now. We’re trying to get [DOH] involved and get this taken care of before somebody gets hurt, or worse.”
Davis and Star City Mayor Sharon Doyle were supposed to meet with a DOH representative at the site on Friday but that meeting was pushed to Monday due to weather.
“We’re on the books for Monday, and fingers crossed that meeting goes through because this is a very dangerous situation.” Doyle said. “It’s a main entry and exit for the residents and businesses on Brewer Hill. It’s not the only way in and out, but it’s heavily used.”
North Main is already cracking under the strain. In addition to making the road unstable, the erosion has now exposed a gas line.
The town has cones in place reducing the street to a single lane.
“We don’t have concrete barriers or anything. Honestly, it would be scary to even put that kind of weight on there. We’re asking the state road to maybe come out and put some barricades up so nothing will happen,” Davis said.
