Residential Retaining Wall Collapses in Pomeroy

UPDATED STORY

POMEROY, Ohio – Officals were on the scene into the evening assessing the situation on Brick Street where a retaining wall has collapsed.

Pomeroy Mayor Don Anderson joined Alan Miles, Pomeroy building inspector and code enforcer, at the scene of a retaining wall collapse in the back yard of a residence on Brick Street. A Forensic Engineering investigation will have had to have been set up in order to assess this situation and get to the bottom of how and why it happened.

An attempt was made to alleviate some of the immediate danger from one of the residences with the potential collapse of a retaining wall. Due to the saturation level of the soil, a back hoe was unable to access the hillside.

Representatives from Pullins Excavating were called in to see what might be done to stabilize the wall and address the immediate concern of further collapse impacting on a residence below the wall.

Officials were still on the scene as of 7:30 p.m. evaluating the situation.

ORIGINAL STORY

POMEROY, Ohio – A retaining wall has failed behind a Brick Street residence in Pomeroy.

Blocks from a retaining wall to an adjacent property came tumbling down the hill around 4 p.m. The concrete blocks fortunately did not strike the residences below, but there is concern what remains of the retaining wall will come crashing down.

According to Alan Miles, Pomeroy Code Enforcer and Building Inspector, the retaining wall was not built properly. Looking at the collapsed wall, there appears to have been nothing holding the blocks together. They appeared to have just been stacked on top of one another.

The Brick Street property is owned by Rick Patterson. His relatives live in the mobile home that could be damaged if the corner of the retaining wall fails, striking the back of the residence. Patterson arrived and was seeing to the safety of his family.

Miles said the Village was going to try to work to minimize the possibility of damage to the back of the Brick Street residence and stabilize the hill to an extent. He said further rain will not help the situation and the embankment could erode further endangering the house above. He believed the corner of the retaining wall could collapse at any time.

While the Meigs Independent Press was on the scene, some movement in the hillside was visible. Miles was working on coordinating assistance from villages workers to address the immediate concern with the remainder of the retaining wall. As of publishing, it was unclear who owned the property above the Brick Street residence on Maple Place that had the retaining wall.

Landslides are not a new issue for the village. Landslides have impacted homes and roadways in Pomeroy. With recent rain, the ground is saturated.

Pomeroy Police Department also responded to the scene.

The Meigs Independent Press will update this story as more information becomes available.