PennDOT monitoring large sinkhole near Route 51 in Rostraver
ROSTRAVER – The state Department of Transportation is monitoring a large sinkhole that appears to be growing on private property near Route 51 in Rostraver Township.
The sinkhole developed in a Sunoco parking lot near where the highway intersects with Interstate 70, PennDOT spokeswoman Valerie Petersen said Wednesday.
“It is big,” Petersen said.
There are a few orange cones and yellow caution tape around the sinkhole, where more cracks have appeared in the pavement around the cavity. It’s believed to be about 10 feet deep.
The sinkhole formed in 2011 due to a privately installed, failed stormwater pipe, said township manager Jeffrey E. Keffer.
It has grown larger over the past year because of heavy rain and snow, Keffer said.
He said the two property owners in the area of the sinkhole are in dispute over who needs to pay to correct the problem.
The state Department of Environmental Protection’s Bureau of Abandoned Mine Reclamation has inspected the sinkhole and determined it is not related to underground coal mine subsidence, DEP spokeswoman Lauren Fraley said.