Bridgeville tearing down houses to prevent future flood losses
Brad Hundt/Observer-Reporter
Crews work to tear down a dwelling on Baldwin Street in Bridgeville. The borough has purchased seven flood-prone properties in order to create green space.
Brad Hundt/Observer-Reporter
Pictured is what’s left of where a house once stood on Baldwin Street in Bridgeville. The borough is tearing down some flood-prone houses in the area.
BRIDGEVILLE – Seven residential properties are being torn down on two Bridgeville streets that have been hit hard by flooding in recent years in order to create green space and give water a place to go should severe flooding happen again.
The borough purchased seven dwellings on Baldwin and Margaret streets as part of a $1.2 million hazard mitigation grant from the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency (PEMA). Bridgeville voluntarily purchased the flood-prone properties, and the demolition should be completed by the beginning of July, according to borough manager Joe Kauer. Once they are gone, the lots will be deed-restricted so nothing can be built there in the future.
“Essentially, the purpose of the project is to prevent future flood losses,” Kauer explained. He added that the borough is interested in tearing down additional properties on those streets if funding becomes available. No businesses are being considered for demolition.
The borough has been considering buying up properties in that area since at least June 20, 2018, when all-day rains followed by an evening deluge led McLaughlin Run Creek to overrun its banks. Residents on Baldwin and Margaret streets were evacuated and businesses in the corridor sustained severe damage. Some kept their doors closed for months after. The body of an Upper St. Clair woman swept away by flood waters was found in Bridgeville the next day. Bethel Park and other communities in the South Hills experienced severe flooding that day.
Baldwin and Margaret streets also saw flooding again late last August when remnants of Hurricane Ida swept across Southwestern Pennsylvania. There were some evacuations but no injuries.
Since 2018, Bridgeville has also eliminated a baseball field at McLaughlin Run Park in order to create a retention pond.