Pittsburgh, Pa. – October 7, 2025 – Staff from the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy and PennDOT District 12, along with State Representative Leslie Rossi and Unity Township officials, gathered on October 3 to acknowledge the important collaboration and hard work to remediate and close a sinkhole in Unity Township, Westmoreland County.
In winter 2023, the Conservancy became aware of a collapsed stream culvert under Route 30 and Fred Rogers Drive on a Conservancy-owned property that resulted in a 60-foot-long, 30-foot-wide, and 20-foot-deep sinkhole. With cooperation from Unity Township officials, the area was immediately blocked, marked with orange fencing and safety cones, and safety notices were posted to inform and protect the public.
Fundraising efforts began soon after, resulting in state grants and private dollars totaling approximately $610,000. Grants from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania through the Department of Community and Economic Development, Commonwealth Financing Authority and Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (administered by the Lincoln Highway Heritage Corridor) supported this project. Funding was also provided by the McFeely-Rogers Foundation and the Foundation for Pennsylvania Watersheds.
Work began in April 2025 to repair the culvert and sinkhole by the engineering firm HRG and its contractor, Aaron Enterprises. Over the course of six months, construction crews stabilized the sides of the sinkhole to prevent additional deterioration and collapse. During this time, portions of Fred Rogers Drive were closed to pedestrian and vehicular traffic. Work began this summer to divert the stream, install a new connecting culvert and create vertical access to the surface. The hole was then filled with a mixture of stone and soil.
Together, these efforts will help prevent a similar collapse in the future and reduce sediment into the unnamed stream, a tributary to Loyalhanna Creek, says Conservancy President and CEO, Tom Saunders.
“It was important to us and the community to remediate this sinkhole, which posed a safety hazard due to its proximity to homes and roads,” says Saunders. “We appreciate the wonderful collaboration from state and local elected officials, the foundation community and local partners to see this project to safe and viable completion.”
Ben Gilberti with HRG, which has extensive experience in construction restoration and restoration projects for roads and bridges, said this project went well due to many factors.
“The most significant factor to success was the Conservancy’s ability to get multiple agencies to work together to ensure the project was completed in an efficient manner while limiting impacts to the community,” said Gilberti. “I was also encouraged by HRG’s and Aaron Enterprises’ ability to assist with navigating potential project challenges and completing tasks in less-than-ideal weather conditions.”
Officials from Unity Township maintained regular communication and worked diligently and collaboratively with the Conservancy and HRG throughout the six-month project. ‘It’s not surprising great things happen for our community when you have great partners at the table, such as Conservancy, Senator Ward and Rep Rossi,” says Unity Township Supervisor Mike O’Barto.
For more information about this project or other land protection or stewardship efforts in the Laurel Highlands, contact Jane Menchyk, a Conservancy land protection manager for the region, at 724-238-2492 or laurelhighlands@paconserve.org.
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About the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy:
The Western Pennsylvania Conservancy (WPC) enhances the region by protecting and restoring exceptional places. A private nonprofit conservation organization founded in 1932, WPC has helped establish 11 state parks, conserved more than a quarter million acres of natural lands, protected or restored more than 3,000 miles of rivers and streams, and assessed thousands of wildlife species and their habitats. The Conservancy owns and operates Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater, which is on the UNESCO World Heritage List and symbolizes people living in harmony with nature. In addition, WPC enriches our region’s cities and towns through 130 community gardens and other green spaces and thousands of trees that are planted with the help of more than 7,000 volunteers. The work of the Conservancy is accomplished through the support of more than 10,000 members. For more information, visit WaterLandLife.org or Fallingwater.org.
Media Contact:
Carmen Bray
Senior Director of Communications
412-586-2358, work
cbray@paconserve.org