By Carol P. Bartold

Feb. 8, 2017: The closure of Midland Avenue between Pondfield Road and Crow's Nest Road remains in effect while Consolidated Edison replaces two sections of old cast-iron pipe. The needed repairs were revealed when a sinkhole opened on the roadway January 29.

Village Administrator Jim Palmer reported to the Bronxville Board of Trustees at its February 6 meeting that the utility will install new piping for a 12-inch gas main, which is located near the corner of Pondfield Road and Library Lane.

"I'm not sure where the term 'sinkhole' started," Palmer said. "It might have been an overstatement."

Palmer described the condition as a depression on Midland Avenue that was exacerbated by trenchless drilling 25 feet under the road from the Bronxville Public Library campus to the elementary school campus. The drilling process, part of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Midland Valley Drainage Project, installs steel casing that will house the 48-inch force main pipes, designed to carry excess storm water away from the school campus and surrounding low-lying areas.

Pushing the steel casing through the soil, Palmer explained, caused it to heave in some locations and raise concrete, particularly at the corner of Midland Avenue and Library Lane.

"But we have good news," Palmer said. "The steel casing is 75 percent installed, with 50 feet remaining to be put in place." Palmer added that the village will give the public an update by the end of the week about when Midland Avenue might be reopened to traffic. He pointed out that Consolidated Edison has excavated a "significant area" at Library Lane to perform needed repairs.

The road closure, Palmer noted, has allowed Consolidated Edison to move quickly to complete its work.

Mayor Mary Marvin emphasized that the lengthy road closure bears no direct relationship to work on the FEMA project. "When that hole was opened," she said, "Consolidated Edison, rightly so, saw what was in there and took the opportunity to fix what was badly needed."

Marvin stated that the two projects, the FEMA project and the utility repairs, will give the village a positive result in the end.

Pictured here:  Area near the sinkhole that has closed Midland Avenue near Pondfield Road.

Photo by Staff