Steel plates have been placed on Buckingham Drive, Jackson, at the location where a sinkhole is undermining the street. JACKSON — A sinkhole in front of a home on Buckingham Drive in the Flair development has upset a local real estate agent and people who are trying to sell their homes.
Meanwhile, the state says the township may finally begin to fix the mess.
Anita Derling, a real estate agent with Weichert, Realtors, said she has been selling homes in Flair since 1990 and knows many people in the development. She said they have asked her to find out what is happening on Buckingham Drive.
Derling said there is a pungent odor coming from the sinkhole, and she said she is concerned that the hole may be a breeding ground for mosquitoes.
She said the problem has gotten worse over the past two years since a brook on Buckingham Drive that is under the jurisdiction of the township has stopped running and the water just sits there, causing a health hazard.
Derling said she lost a sale because a prospective buyer did not believe the township was properly maintaining local roads.
Township Engineer Dan Burke said the Buckingham Drive culvert issue has been challenging and he reviewed what has occurred.
“We first were advised of a sinkhole in March 2009 in the sidewalk area of 74 Buckingham Drive,” he said. “The Department of Public Works excavated the area under my supervision and determined the sinkhole was due to an improperly constructed joint between a concrete pipe running from a nearby inlet to a large metal pipe.”
Burke said he attempted to determine what the metal pipe was. It was noted that a large metal pipe outfall across the street and another, along the recently extended Cambridge Drive, ran several hundred feet away.
After reviewing files for the original development application, circa 1970, and the recently extended cul-de-sac on Cambridge Drive, it was determined that a large metal culvert pipe extended across the property of 74 Buckingham Drive and connected the inlet and outlet ends of the culvert.
“I reviewed the assessor’s records and had a deed search conducted to determine if the township had an easement on the 74 Buckingham Drive property for this culvert,” Burke said. “An easement was determined to be in place [and so] we then engaged a pipe video company to conduct and record a video inspection of the entire length of the culvert pipe [about 300 feet].”
Burke said the video inspection revealed significant structural deficiencies within the pipe .
He said township officials contacted the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and asked that an emergency permit be issued to allow for the timely replacement of the culvert. He said funding was obtained from the Township Council.
“DEP rejected our request,” Burke said. “We asked for a reconsideration and a site visit with their engineering staff. We were again denied the permit.”
Burke said after that, he directed that Buckingham Drive be closed to traffic or that steel plates be put in place to protect vehicles. The steel plates were put in place in the fall of 2009.
He proceeded to prepare the necessary permit applications for the replacement of the road. This included a detailed survey and hydraulic analysis of the stream and its drainage area prepared by consultants under Burke’s direction. The permit applications (flood hazard and wetlands permits) were submitted in May 2010 by Burke’s office.
“We were advised that the application would be rejected in late June 2010 and to preserve the submitted fees for our subsequent reapplications, we must withdraw the application,” the engineer said.
Burke said his department was directed to conduct an environmental study of the drainage area as part of the alternate permit application.
“We continued to work with DEP to determine an acceptable replacement pipe sizing,” he said. “They rejected various sizing options that were presented and ultimately demanded a three-sided culvert. We requested relief from this requirement, as it would escalate the project cost.”
Burke said he was recently notified that if the township submitted a drawing with the three-sided culvert, an emergency permit would be issued. He said the township submitted a drawing prepared by his office.
“I met with a concrete pre-casting firm and provided a copy of the drawing and asked for a quote for the fabrication and delivery of the required sectionalized pre-cast culvert,” Burke said. “Upon my return to the office, I spoke with the purchasing department and the business administrator regarding the process on expediting the acquisition of the pre-cast culvert.”
Burke said he expects that a resolution will be on a council agenda authorizing the acquisition of the pre-cast culvert under the emergency provision of the law.
“I would expect a minimum four- to sixweek lead time to begin receiving the culvert sections after [an authorization] is issued,” the engineer said. “We are working to facilitate a summer construction project, with final surface restoration expected for the spring of next year. We have communicated with the Jackson Township Municipal Utilities Authority and the gas company about this project to ensure that the proper accommodations are provided to protect and maintain their services.”
DPW Director Fred Rasiewicz said it is a shame the process of addressing the sinkhole has taken so long.
“We have been worried about our equipment going down there, as well as school buses,” Rasiewicz said. “Also, fire trucks have to go down that road.”
Rasiewicz said the DPW can only make quick fixes on the road by putting down steel plates, but his concern then became snow removal and damage to plows and other equipment.
DEP spokesman Larry Hajna said the township initially applied for the wrong permit and that is why the application was rejected.
A June 22 email from DEP spokesperson Gabriel Mahon to Burke indicated that everything is now in order and that Jackson has authorization to begin construction of the repairs on Buckingham Drive.