Virginia Road Landslide Repair Nearly Complete

Ross Township Commissioner Chris Eyster can't say enough good things about the contractor hired to repair the Virginia Road landslide.

Township officials in October hired Joseph Vaccarello Jr. Inc. of Carnegie to repair damage from a landslide in July below Virginia Road. 

"The contractor did an incredible job," said Eyster. "When you look at the amount of work, the amount of earth they moved, it was like building the pyramids. It was amazing."

As of Thursday morning, Eyster said the only work remaining on the project involved repaving the portion of Virginia Road that slid down the hillside July 27, and the only thing holding up the repaving work was the replacement of a Verizon utility pole.

Verizon spokesman Lee Gierczynski, when contacted, said the work was scheduled to be completed by the end of the day Thursday. Eyster said he was glad to hear the pole was being placed this week.

"I think that (Patch's) call prompted Verizon to get moving," he said. "We need to get that road paved before the weather becomes too cold."

Heavy rains on the night of July 27 triggered the landslide, sending tons of dirt and trees into the back of Andy Bencsic's home at 137 Glen Lane.

The question as to who is going to foot the bill for all of the repair work remains up in the air. Eyster said the township has not received word from its insurance carrier about coverage.

"In the event that we don't have insurance coverage, we have enough money in our budget to cover it, and still make a balanced budget," he said after the board of commissioners meeting on Oct. 15. "But we'd really like to get the insurance company to chip in here."

It's also unclear who will ultimately pay for the damage to the Bencsics' home.

"They've indicated that their insurance company is not going to kick in anything," said Eyster. "There hasn't been any discussion about who's paying for what."

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