'PennDOT SUXXX!' Man On Crusade To Get Sunken Route 8 Spot Fixed
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HAMPTON TOWNSHIP (KDKA) -- A one-man crusade to get attention for a sunken spot on Route 8.
It appears to only be a few inches, but a local guy says it could cause some serious damage if it isn't fixed.
Chris Bailey, of Shaler, is driving around with a negative message about PennDOT on his back window these days.
That's because he says he hit that sunken storm drain back in May, damaging his car.
"It's gotten broken suspension pieces up front, and it's making noises, and the suspension wobbles when I go the posted speed limits," Bailey said.
But he says he's forced to drive it to get to dialysis three days a week and can't afford the $1,000 estimate to have it fixed.
"I don't have the money to turn it in for my insurance deductible because I haven't had a job since February," Bailey said.
Now his concern is someone else hitting it at 40 miles an hour.
It's in a southbound lane in Hampton Township just before the Shaler Township line.
Someone has painted pink around the drain and there are warning devices which have been run over.
Bailey even put out an orange cone, but then removed it, since he didn't have permission do that.
"I don't want to see anyone encounter the same kind of damage that they I saw," he said.
Bailey says he called PennDOT because it's a state road, but hasn't gotten any action.
"Riding a motorcycle and having friends that do that, if one of them hits that at night, they're going to die," Bailey said.
A PennDOT spokesperson tells KDKA that they always encourage people to report problems like this.
He says they will definitely go out and inspect this and see what they can do.