State to fill the deepest holes on Sawkill Road this year

By Frances Ruth Harris
MILFORD — The state has agreed to fix what resident Gayle Darcy calls "the seriously deep, troubling, forevermore all-over-the-place potholes" on Sawkill Road.

In a noon meeting on Wednesday at the Milford office of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT), Darcy asked if the state could tackle the most dangerous spots first, considering that even the bidding for serious work on Sawkill won't begin until July 2016.

Ken Thiele, PennDOT's maintenance manager for Pike County, called Don Wuchter, Pike County's East Side Maintenance Assistant Manager, into the meeting. He told Darcy and the other Sawkill Road residents in attendance — Sandy Lafort, Helga Becking, and Joyce Van Nest: "We can schedule potholes this year."

This gave the residents hope, as they talked with Thiele and Wuchter about which spots should be tackled first. The residents left with a gift — a giant Pike County road map. And Lafort happily accepted a supply of garbage bags for collecting litter on her stretch of road.

The residents are leading the fight to repair Sawkill. The road bed is crumbling and buckling, creating a hazard for all drivers who use this vital thoroughfare, they say.

Online"Dangerous roads wait for a fix": http://bit.ly/1Gh0UNv

"Deficient Pike bridges restricted": http://bit.ly/1djFTrk

"Study: PA roads fatally deficient": http://bit.ly/17mPRPW