Problems with a wall that is crumbling on Spruce Run have Ben Avon council members reconsidering their capital spending for the coming year.

Hal Deily of Spruce Street discussed the situation with council at Tuesday's meeting, saying that the water starts up by I-279, and as it gains momentum, it goes through Bellevue, through Avalon, "and through our front yards. The wall was not built to hold it. It's a critical problem."

That was evident when council president Lloyd Corder showed a slide of the crumbling wall. Borough engineer Ed McGee said the opening is about 8 feet by 10 feet. He said the borough has two options: to do a temporary repair on the part that is crumbling that should hold for a year or two and cost about $20,000; or to rebuild a whole section of the wall that runs about 135 feet and would cost about $120,000. He said the temporary job could be done this year and would allow time for council to explore funding opportunities that might be available.

McGee added, though, that the borough definitely needs to look at a longer-term solution because the walls along that section were built between 1890 and 1910, "and all are showing significant deterioration."
Corder asked council members if they wanted to go with the short-term option, "or spend 60 percent of our capital budget" to do the whole wall.

R.J. White answered, "In light of the budget in Harrisburg, I think we should spend 60 percent of the capital bud-get."

However, Brian Tokar asked about a third option -- if the project could be shortened, doing a permanent job but to a shorter section of the wall. McGee replied yes, that maybe a 40-foot section could be set aside to be done later, and that would cut the cost by about one-third.

Council voted unanimously to have McGee spend up to $10,000 for a survey of the area and report back on all three options.