Published: July 30, 2008 09:12 am      

Keyser officials may close street above failing wall

KEYSER, W.Va. — At first glance, the concrete retaining wall behind the Keyser Goodwill Store may not seem like much of a problem.

Closer examination, however, will reveal cracks starting to snake their way through the concrete. Sight down the length of the wall and you’ll notice it’s beginning to bow out in places and lean toward the back of the store in others.

“The wall behind the Goodwill is falling in,” Streets Commissioner Dave Sowers said Monday.

“It’s moving at the rate of about an inch every six months.”

The wall, according to Charles Wimer, whose family owns property in the area, was constructed when Jackson Street, located just above, was “a dirt alley.”

Now Jackson Street is paved and the traffic, especially larger trucks like the one operated by the trash hauler, are putting more and more stress on the wall.

“One problem is there’s no weep holes in the wall whatsoever,” Streets Supervisor Jim Hannas said, noting that moisture and runoff have no way to drain away from the wall.

“You’re not going to stop the rain, and you’re not going to stop the snow in winter, but one think you can do is get the heavy trucks off there,” Wimer said.

“We’ve talked to the city about this for years, but nothing has been done. Now it’s leaning to the point where the weight of the wall itself is bringing it down.”

Wimer suggested making the street, which stretches from Baker Street to Southern Drive, a dead end. The street is basically used as an alley for the homes on a section of Chandell Street and if Jackson Street is dead end or closed altogether, the trash hauler could pick up the Chandell Street garbage in the front of the homes instead of behind them.

Sowers did not want the City Council to make any decision until they can speak with the property owners who use Jackson Street.

“I’d like to see how much they use that street,” he said, making a motion to table the issue until the next council meeting.

Mayor Glen “Bunk” Shumaker wondered how much traffic still uses the street, which was once very busy when the Keyser Garment Factory was still in operation on Southern Drive.

“Probably the best thing to do would be to lay a traffic counter down there,” he said.

Hannas suggested “the second best thing to do” would be to contact the trash hauler and see if the company would move its pickup to Chandell Street.

In other business that came before the council Monday, two bids for the excavation and cleanup of debris and dirt on a property located between Oak and Cherry streets were both rejected.

Sowers asked his fellow council members to reject the bids for $12,750 and $15,285 and have the city employees do the work “in house” instead.

“It will save us a bundle of money,” Sowers said.

The cleanup is scheduled to start next week.

Contact Liz Beavers at lbeavers@times-news.com.