Mayor's Press Room

City of Troy Declares Emergency for Campbell Avenue

February 23, 2012

For Immediate Release: Thursday, February 23, 2012
For More Information: Michael Fraser, 279-7131 
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TROY, N.Y. – The City has issued an emergency declaration and has closed Campbell Avenue to through traffic effective immediately. Repair work conducted last month on water and sewer mains in the area of Campbell Avenue revealed severely compromised soil conditions caused by Hurricane Irene. Since repair work was completed in late-January, further testing has revealed that soil conditions have deteriorated, and rendered the Campbell Avenue roadway unsafe for a large volume of traffic.

The area of Campbell Avenue between Donegal Avenue and Sherman Avenue will be closed to traffic. Businesses in the immediate area will remain open. It is likely that the project to permanently reinforce the compromised hillside will take at least three months.

“The soil conditions in that area have been so degraded by Hurricane Irene that we have no choice but to prohibit traffic on Campbell Avenue. The safety threat is extremely high,” Troy Mayor Lou Rosamilia said. “I recognize this causes a regrettable inconvenience for commuters. Reinforcing the hillside so that it is both safe and stable is going to be a lengthy and comprehensive process. Our immediate goals right now are to secure the area, make sure residents are safe, work with engineers and FEMA to craft the best solution, and get to work as soon as we can.”

This week, City engineers received test results that indicated a dynamic soil situation, with test results that indicated similar soil conditions to those seen in the Brunswick Road area immediately following Hurricane Irene in 2011. Further testing confirmed the City’s own engineering reports and recommended the immediate closure of Campbell Avenue, causing today’s emergency declaration to protect public safety.

City engineers will be working with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to conduct an overall assessment and review of the impacted area and begin the process of conducting a comprehensive project to reinforce the stability of the hillside to the immediate north of the affected area. In the coming days, further analysis and engineering remediation will continue. Prior to the start of the construction work, the City will hold an informational meeting to inform residents of project scope and details, and lay out expected timeframes. The time and location of that meeting will be announced shortly.

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