Update on Pennsylvania Avenue Potholes and Water Testing
Background
Residents along Pennsylvania Avenue (from Fourth Street to mid-block) have raised concerns about recurring potholes. Heavy traffic that hits these improperly fixed potholes sends strong vibrations through nearby homes and causes damage to properties.
PennDOT has patched the potholes multiple times, but repairs do not last.
- September 2025 Update to PennDOT’s Position: All parties agree with the Borough Engineer that the water PennDOT noticed in an earlier dig did not come from the Borough’s water system. See Recent Actions below for more details.
- PennDOT’s earlier position: Water found during the last repairs suggests a leak in the Borough’s water main beneath Pennsylvania Avenue.
- Borough’s Position: Repairs fail because PennDOT is not completing them properly. No evidence of a water main leak has been found; the water is more likely from a natural spring, which is common in Avondale.
Recent Actions
- Early September 2025: the Mayor met with the Secretary of Transportation, Mike Carroll, Representative Sappey, a representative from Senator Kane’s office, the PennDOT District 6 Executive, Din Abazi, and other PennDOT officials to address the recurring potholes on Route 41 between 4th and 5th Streets. During this meeting, all parties agreed with Borough Engineer Tom Wilkes that the water PennDOT noticed during an earlier dig—though not present in later tests—did not come from the Borough’s water system. It was most likely from a natural source. PennDOT will work with our engineers to develop a plan so that, if water is encountered during future repairs, the work can still move forward, and the water can be properly diverted. The group also agreed to a funding plan for the project. Avondale Borough will apply for a PennDOT Multimodal Transportation Fund grant, with PennDOT providing the required engineering details to support the application. While additional steps remain in the grant process, the plan is that once the Borough is awarded the grant, PennDOT will undertake comprehensive repairs to ensure the potholes do not continue to reappear. The grant application period opens in late October, with awards expected in spring 2026 and construction anticipated in summer 2026. The Mayor and Borough Council extend their sincere appreciation to PennDOT for partnering with the Borough to address this much-needed repair, and to Representative Sappey and Senator Kane for their continued and steadfast advocacy and support on behalf of our community.
- April 15, 2025: Avondale Borough Council held a Town Hall Meeting at the Presbyterian Church to discuss residents’ concerns.
- May 8, 2025: Representatives from PennDOT, the Borough Engineer, KBX, and two Council members observed PennDOT dig test areas near the potholes. No water was found after significant digging.
- Follow-Up: PennDOT shared results by email with the Borough. The Borough, in turn, responded with letters from the Borough Solicitor and Engineer. PennDOT then replied with its own correspondence.
Copies of Correspondence:
May 12, 2025, Email from Desiree Shives to Mayor Susan
May 14, 2025, Letter from Tom Wilkes, Borough Engineer to Borough Council and Mayor
June 9, 2025, Letter from Kim Venzie, Borough Solicitor to Tom Rogal, PennDOT
PennDOT Response Letter to Solicitor Venzie
Current Status
The Borough continues to emphasize that Pennsylvania Avenue is a PennDOT-owned road and insists PennDOT must make lasting repairs. Borough Council and the Mayor are advocating for residents by pressing PennDOT and seeking meetings with state-level officials.
How Residents Can Help
Residents are encouraged to contact PennDOT and local elected officials to voice concerns about:
- The potholes and need for permanent repair
- Heavy truck traffic on Route 41
- Damage to properties along Pennsylvania Avenue
📞 PennDOT District 6 Office: (610) 205-6700
📞 Representative Christina Sappey: (484) 200-8264
📞 Senator John Kane: (610) 510-8252
BRIDGE OVER WHITE CLAY CREEK
Avondale Borough recently learned that the repairs to the bridge on Rte 41/Pennsylvania Ave, that were previously slated for 2024-25, have been postponed. The Mayor and Council will be meeting with various elected officials, PennDOT and the Federal Highway Administration later this week but we recently submitted our public comment and are sharing this here and on our website for transparency. If you’d like to add your public comment they are due by 5 pm this Tuesday, June 28th. you can submit at this link https://www.dvrpc.org/tip/draft
Our public comment is below:
Public Comment Regarding the Bridge On Rt 41/Pennsylvania Ave In Avondale Borough
Avondale Borough Council and I, the Mayor of Avondale Borough, respectfully submit our concerns that the bridge on Pennsylvania Ave in Avondale Borough was recently removed from the TIP list for repair/replacement. We find this omission by PennDOT and DVRPC very concerning.
In 2018, this bridge was listed as being in poor condition with a “5” rating. As of 2022 the data shows that the bridge had deteriorated to a “4” rating. The data shows a forecast for the bridge dropping to a “3” rating by 2025. This bridge is in a state of deterioration. 1. These are national ratings2. Removing this bridge from the DVRPC/PennDOT list is dangerous.
When the current Council and I took office in January 2022, we had a meeting with PennDOT during which we were told that the bridge was on the calendar for repair or replacement in 2024 – 2025. As far as we knew, until the current TIP list came out, that was the plan. This bridge is in poor condition, and if it fails it will be catastrophic for the entire region. It could cause serious injury and would significantly impact commercial and personal transportation.
According to PennDOT’s reports, “The most recent bridge inspection report noted the superstructure, substructure, and deck are all in poor condition. Stream channel impacts are anticipated to be limited to the immediate vicinity of the existing bridge site because the improved bridge will closely match the existing bridge in length and width.”
To us, it seems that we are all in agreement this bridge must be repaired.
After learning the bridge was not listed on the current TIP, I reached out to PennDOT for clarification. Only at that point was I told that PennDOT would not move forward because they are now in conflict with the Historic Commission. I spoke with the Historic Commission; they haven’t received any documentation from PennDOT since 2021. The letter from the State Historic Preservation Office reads: “Therefore, in our opinion, the boundary at the south and east of the Avondale Historic District should continue to extend to White Clay Creek based on the information provided and available within our files.”
The 1999 designation of the historic district extends to the boundary formed by White Clay Creek but does not include White Clay Creek itself. Therefore, the bridge is not included in the historic district. Additionally, when it was necessary to replace the bridge on State Street – a structure entirely within the historic district – the historic district designation did not impede the work and the bridge was completed.
Regardless of whether or not this bridge is in the historic district, it is in poor condition; PennDOT has narrowed its width because of safety concerns. This bridge must be repaired sooner rather than later. We believe that by taking this bridge off of the TIP list for 2024 – 2025, PennDOT is putting people and commerce in danger. We request that the bridge on Rt 41(Pennsylvania Avenue) be returned to the TIP list for repair or replacement immediately, and that work begins at the earliest possible opportunity.
1 https://infobridge.fhwa.dot.gov/Data/BridgeDetail/22744188
2 https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/bridge/britab.cfm
Respectfully,
Susan Rzucidlo, Mayor
Paul Morgan, Borough Council President
Stephanie Reichert, Borough Council Vice President
Mike Essmaker, Borough Council Member
Fernando Tena-Diaz, Borough Council Member
Janet Watts, Borough Council Member