Lowellville plans sixth fix to Third Street embankment

By EMMALEE C. TORISK

etorisk@vindy.com

LOWELLVILLE

For the sixth time since 1998, the village will attempt to repair a slumping embankment on Third Street that officials say now poses a danger to those traveling along the roadway.

For example, the continuous landsliding there — made worse with recent rain — has caused soil and large rocks, or rip-rap, to fly out into the street and into traffic.

“It’s just a hazardous situation,” said Lowellville Mayor James Iudiciani Sr.

The trapezoid-shaped embankment stretches about 175 feet along Third Street, narrowing to 100 feet at the hill’s top. The area in between, or the embankment’s height, is about 80 feet.

Iudiciani estimated that the village already has spent about $400,000 — most of it through grants from the Ohio Development Services Agency’s Community Development Block Grant program, as well as from the Ohio Public Works Commission — over the past 16 years to address the embankment’s instability.

He noted that all five previous attempts were handled through MS Consultants Inc. of Youngstown, though the recurring problem wasn’t necessarily the fault of the engineering firm.

“We never really spent the kind of money that needed to be spent,” Iudiciani said. “We never really fixed the problem with these Band-Aid jobs.”

This time, however, the village is hoping to discover the root of the problem — or “the source of the water that’s causing the slip” — before attempting another fix, he added. The village has applied for emergency money from the OPWC to address the embankment.

A proposal prepared by the Canfield-based Tetra Tech, which was selected for the project by the village’s council, estimates the repair will cost $238,284; of that amount, $201,584 would be earmarked for construction expenses, while the remaining $36,700 would be for engineering work.

This cost may change depending on the results of the “investigation to find out what’s making it move,” said Larry Drane, operations manager for Tetra Tech. He added that until then, “everything’s kind of conjecture.”

According to the proposal, Tetra Tech will conduct a detailed survey of the affected area, including topography and “any other applicable information that may be relevant to the instability of the embankment.”

A borehole drilling plan based upon those specific site conditions will be developed; when tested, the soil borings will allow Tetra Tech representatives to “see exactly what the material’s like at those depths,” Iudiciani said. This information — such as whether unstable soils are present in the area — then will provide them with “an idea of what to do,” said Sam Toppi, senior roadway engineer for Tetra Tech.

The firm also will research past mining activities in the area to determine whether deep mines are affecting the embankment.

“We have to find out what’s causing it, and then we can make decisions on what the best remedy is,” Drane said, noting that he estimates the project to last between two and three months.

But first, Iudiciani said, the OPWC emergency money must be secured — and sooner, rather than later. If for whatever reason it can’t be, he’s “not sure where [the village] will get the money to fix it.”

“We’re just hoping to do it a final time,” Iudiciani added.