PETERSBURG, Va. -- Homeowners in one Petersburg neighborhood are reaching out to the CBS 6 Problem Solvers again about a two-year construction project that is still not finished and has led to a new problem in their neighborhood.
People who live in Battlefield Park contacted CBS 6 in June of 2016 about a stalled construction project that left a road closed.
Now a year later and two years after work started, the detour remains in place.
Battlefield Park
“It should have been fixed a long time ago,” said Veronica Jones, who has to use the detour every day.
Jones said the $450,000 project has led to another problem: part of North Park Drive is now crumbling.
“A lot of traffic has to come through here and that has caused the road to be really cracked and starting to break in,” Jones explained.
“The road is starting to buckle... just from wear and tear,” Michael Niacaris added.
The detour isn’t just an inconvenience for Battlefield Park residents.
CBS 6 cameras spotted two fire trucks using the detour while responding to a call.
“If it wasn’t for the detour, the fire trucks could have come straight through. Instead they had to go all the way round,” Jones said.
The drainage improvement project was halted when Petersburg was dealing with a financial crisis and the contractor was not paid.
City officials said on June 16 of 2016 that the contractor had been paid and the project was scheduled to be completed by the end of August, but that did not happen.
Petersburg official sent WTVR CBS 6 the statement Wednesday afternoon:
“The City will make temporary repairs to the pot holes on N. Park Drive today. Miss Utilities has been contacted to survey the area and mark the underground lines, which will allow the City to make permanent repairs."
Additionally, city officials said the project's contractor was recently been paid and that the work should be completed later this month.
CBS 6 News is working for you. Click here to email a tip to the CBS 6 Problem Solvers. Be sure to leave us your name, phone number and detailed description of the problem. You can also leave a message by calling 804-254-3672.
