Marilyn Acosta was riding in a car on Route 9W in Glenmont on Saturday, Nov. 7, when her world was momentarily and literally turned upside down due to what state and local officials say is probably is a groundwater issue.
Her vehicle and several others that morning skidded on black ice and two of them, including Acosta’s, overturned. “Slippery pavement” was the official cause of three accidents that occurred within a 15-minute time period starting at 7:15 a.m. that sent one person to the hospital with a minor head injury, according to Bethlehem police.
“It just happened so quick,” Acosta said of the accident. “Unbelievably, we call came out OK…I can’t imagine if there was other cars coming.”
Later that day at 9:30 p.m. there was another accident attributed to the same cause.
This spate of accidents was evidently caused by water that has risen to the level of covering the roadway at most times, and the state Department of Transportation said it will begin taking measures Monday, Nov. 30, to mitigate the spilling of water, which affects an area near Roberts Towing & Recovery Center.
Resident Engineer for Albany County DOT Michael Johnson said that the department would be working with an emergency contractor to solve the problem, possibly through an underdrain system. It is still not entirely clear how the water is flowing onto the roadway, however.
“It is unusual, there is and increase in water there and we’re trying to find out what the issue is,” said Johnson, who added more will be known about the situation once crews begin work.
An underdrain system usually consists of perforated pipes inserted under the road that are designed to keep groundwater from seeping up through or causing cracks in the roadway.
Bethlehem Department of Public Works Commissioner Josh Cansler speculated that the overflow might be related to groundwater. The department has run tests on a nearby water line with sensitive sound equipment that can detect breaks or leaks and did not find any problems. Testing was also done on the water itself for the presence of chlorine, which came out negative.
“We looked into it extensively,” Cansler said. “It’s got to be ground water if it doesn’t have chlorine in it.”
A similar issue emerged several years ago and the DPW dug up an extensive section of water main, said Cansler, only to find no problems with the line.
As the water is causing problems on a state road, it will be up to the DOT to fix the situation. Johnson said that in past weeks a salt truck has been sent out to 9W as needed to make the area safe for the morning rush hour.
“We look at the temperature, if looks like it will be near freezing we’ll have a truck out there early morning,” he said.
Look to The Spotlight or www.spotligtnews.com for updates on project.
