Thanks to the help of State Senator Devlin Robinson, Bridgeville Borough Council and Mayor are proud to announce that the Borough has been awarded a $1,000,000 grant from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania through the state’s Local Share Account grant program. This funding is the first in a series of pending grant applications that will be needed to construct Phase 1A of the McLaughlin Run Flood Control Project.
For decades, generations of Bridgeville citizens have been experiencing catastrophic flooding as an ongoing occurrence. In 2021, our community was flooded two times; both were declared States of Emergency Disaster with many of the affected properties sustaining first floor flooding. In 2018, the largest flood Bridgeville experienced in recent history resulted in one death and millions of dollars of damage that impacted forty-eight businesses and 127 homes. Since 2019, to combat the effects of flooding in our community, Borough Council has completed and authorized several improvements. First effort completed was a hydrological engineering study of the McLaughlin Run watershed. This plan calls for the creation of the McLaughlin Run Flood Control Project, an effort that would construct levees and pumping systems in the heart of Bridgeville. Additional work recently completed includes: reconstructed areas of existing flood walls, created access points into the stream for debris removal and routine maintenance, sacrificed our town’s baseball field by lowering it to accept flood waters, installed a trash rack in the creek to prevent debris from blocking downstream culverts and bridges, purchased and demolished six flood-prone properties on Baldwin Street, advocated for the replacement of the existing Bower Hill Road Bridge that is now planned for construction in 2026, and through approved DEP permits removed gravel bars and sediment from key areas within McLaughlin Run and the Chartiers Creek Back Channel. These efforts are helping, but the severe weather continues to adversely impact our community each time there are heavy rains.
Late last year as part of the planning for the McLaughlin Run Flood Control Project, the Bridgeville Planning Commission and Council thoroughly vetted this engineering study and its recommendations with significant public input at multiple public meetings. The Borough Council adopted this plan and recommended that Phase 1A be implemented, directing Borough Manager Joe Kauer to seek grant funding to help build this $7,112,123.00 project.
The McLaughlin Run Flood Control Project – Phase 1A consists of the installation of a soldier beam and lagging levee wall along the west bank of McLaughlin Run from Commercial Street to the Back Channel of Chartiers Creek along Carol Avenue. This first phase also includes the replacement of the existing double barrel corrugated arch culvert under Commercial Street (behind Dari Delite) with a single span concrete culvert; the installation of additional storm sewers along Carol and Washington Avenues; and the installation of two screw pump systems to remove flood waters within the developed area.
The new levee wall will be constructed three feet above the 100-year flood elevation and will help in mitigating future flooding in this area. This will also help enable community redevelopment in Bridgeville’s north-end. It is expected that this project will take a couple more years to acquire the remaining funding necessary for construction. Future phases of this project continue up the watershed along Baldwin Street and McLaughlin Run Road and its concepts continue to be vetted as part of the Borough’s efforts to update its Comprehensive Plan.
Summary of the proposed construction and a review of the McLaughlin Run Flood Control Project are available at the links below:
McLaughlin Run – Flood Presentation July 2021
