Butler Pike To Be Closed For At Least 18 Months Due To New Sinkholes
MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Pa. (CBS) - Drivers in Montgomery County will have to wait over a year for Butler Pike to reopen. Officials announced Thursday that new sinkholes have developed in the area, making it unsafe to reopen the road anytime soon. Butler Pike, between Flourtown/Plymouth Roads and Germantown Pike, will remain closed until crews are able to make permanent repairs.
Butler Pike was closed in August 2018 after a large sinkhole developed near an active Norfolk Southern railroad bridge that crosses over the road.
Shortly after, crews worked to stabilize the area to safely reopen Butler Pike while permanent repairs were made, but officials say the recent sinkholes in the area has made that plan impossible.
In addition to the Norfolk Southern rail bridge, Texas Eastern Gas Pipeline operates high pressure natural gas transmission lines, PECO has power lines, Verizon has telecommunications lines and the Whitemarsh Authority has a sanitary sewer line that all cross the roadway at that location.
The overall design process is expected to take 18 months before work on the permanent road reconstruction can begin. There is no word on how long repairs are going to take.
