Taylorsville Road Repairs Request Rejected By PennDOT

LOWER MAKEFIELD TOWNSHIP, PA —While Taylorsville Road has been fixed and is being repaved since last month's flash flooding, future improvements to one of the township's main routes may not be happening anytime soon.

Lower Makefield Township officials held another meeting with residents of the Maplevale neighborhood —which suffered flooding that damaged homes and opened a sinkhole near the Delaware Canal —but future work on the road isn't getting state support at this time.

Township Manager David Kratzer said the township asked the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation for a capital construction project to add a stormwater structure for Taylorsville Road and Dollington Road —both state roads — but was turned away.

"They do not have planned improvements for drainage," Kratzer said. "They don't have a statutory obligation to retrofit highways to meet stormwater management."

Residents have expressed frustration that repairs are taking too long and continued to do so at the flood update meeting township officials held last week.

"I don't mean to be disgusted," one resident said. "I do appreciate all the work you're doing. We're all freaked out by the next storm. I haven't slept during the last three storms."

Kratzer, Public Works Director Derek Fuller, and other township officials told residents that work on 18-20 Maplevale Dr. is progressing on the township front for pipe and embankment reconstruction.

On the state level, though, progress has stalled with several agencies.

"Ultimately, we need cooperation from those agencies," Kratzer said.

Kratzer said the township is communicating with PennDOT, DCNR, the DEP, and PEMA/FEMA on a regular basis to assist residents who have suffered and also prevent the fast-moving storm on July 15 that dumped six inches of rain on the township, causing flash flooding that damaged homes and claimed the lives of six people in nearby Upper Makefield Township.

Kratzer said PennDOT instructed the township to reach out to the Bucks County Planning Commission to try and push the capital improvement project through that pipeline.

Kratzer said township officials have set up a meeting for Sept. 5 to pursue that process.

"We want to talk about a long-range plan and see if we can get work done," he said.

Kratzer said the township also talked with PennDOT about maintenance items like installing backflow flaps but was told by the agency that the work was not scheduled and would not be before the end of the year.

"We asked PennDOT to prioritize work, but PennDOT said it will proceed with currently planned work before the transition to other projects," he said.

Parker Cohen, who was at the meeting to represent state Rep. Perry Warren, explained why PennDOT could not provide a more positive response.

"PennDOT's budget has been frozen for over 10 years," she said. "They can't say we can jump on this right away."

The township also said it is having ongoing conversations with the DCNR and DEP about additional pipe along Maplevale Drive to discharge into Delaware Canal, but has not been granted approval.

"We continue to advocate for that," Kratzer said. "We are drafting letters to both agencies asking for reconsideration."

Richard Adams, a Taylorsville Road resident, said the water must be redirected from Hough's Creek so it seeps into sand and gravel and doesn't flood the road and nearby homes.

Adams asked for the bridge to be replaced or raised so water would flow underneath it instead of overflowing embankments.

"We just can't go in and replace a bridge," Fuller said. "We need permits and studies."