As third anniversary of Kungle Road collapse nears, fix for Norton span now in sight

Is a pothole a pothole if the pothole is wider and deeper than the road it affects?

Residents living near the collapsed Kungle Road bridge have had three years to ponder that — and other — concrete questions.

The bridge, closed in May 2019 due to structural deficiencies, promptly collapsed a month later, on June 17, 2019.

Road work: Fix for Kungle 'canyon' in Norton closer after Summit County kicks in $200,000

Since then, residents have been waiting for the absent roadway to be replaced as more of the road crumbles in times of inclement weather. It’s a problem they’ve learned to joke about, and in some cases, enjoy.

“There are some people retired on the street … some like the quiet and peace of it,” said Phyllis Osborne, a New Franklin resident on the south side of the gap.

Spanning the Kungle Kanyon

In coming months — hopefully later this year, said Norton Administrator Robert Fowler — work will begin on the road, bringing to an eventual end one of Summit County’s oddest bad-street sagas in recent years.

During that time, residents have made inconvenient adjustments to their daily routines and travel routes. They've explored new routes to their neighbors to the north and south. They’ve also become familiar with news media inquiries about their unusual predicament.

“I was on TV three different times over this time (period),” Osborne said.

From the start, efforts to address the problem were complicated by the intersection of four governments with a stake in the repair, replacement and funding of the growing gap. The former bridge was perched near the Norton-New Franklin border, the Summit County Engineer’s Office is responsible for bridge repairs — although the Kungle bridge was not officially a bridge — and the state provides big chunks of money for such things.

Bridge collapse: Norton, Summit County meet after collapse

But getting everyone in the choir to sing the same tune took time. How long? The road collapsed nine months before the COVID-19 pandemic that caused its own unique collapse across American society.

In April, Norton officials met with Kungle residents to explain the coming fix that had been three years in the making. As part of a much larger Eastern Road project, Kungle Kanyon would be spanned, they said. The Kungle connection between Norton and New Franklin would finally be restored.

In the end, when the smoke cleared, Norton, New Franklin, the county and the state all pitched in something to make it happen.

'The biggest frustration'

Still, some residents are skeptical, wanting to see backhoes and cranes before they can believe it.

“I’m not going to believe anybody until I see that road opened,” Osborne said. “It’s the biggest frustration I’ve ever been involved with.”

At the public meeting, Fowler said residents were informed about the agreement, which would expand Eastern Road where new development is taking place, and include an answer to the Kungle conundrum.

“There were some people who were frustrated,” he said.

The Norton administrator, who has felt much of the scorn cast from residents since the collapse, has experienced his own bout of frustration from the beginning of the problem.

At first, Norton wasn’t sure if the gap was located in Norton or New Franklin. The county answered that question, determining that it was within Norton’s borders. Then there was a question about the county’s level of responsibility, since a bridge had gone bust.

Fowler said the city has dedicated millions to repairing streets and is seeing progress on that front.

“We put a lot of money in roads this year,” he said in a recent phone interview. (Barber Road) will be done shortly. The roads are really improving.”

But Kungle has been the speck-in-the-eye of infrastructure concerns. It’s been so difficult to find a solution, he’s reluctant to give a solid answer on when the Kungle conclusion will come.

“My hope would be September of next year,” he said. “Just in case, I’m saying 18 months.”

Amy Fox Sir Louis, another Kungle resident, said visitors to the area are impressed by the ever-expanding hole in the road.

“We just had (a) garage sale,” she said. “One lady had heard all about it and we walked down and she said, ‘The pictures don’t do it justice.’ It’s a massive hole right now.”

Unlike her neighbor, Fox Sir Louis is confident that the Eastern Road project will bring repairs to Kungle. But she, too, isn’t going to place any bets on a completion date.

“At the end of the day, no road in our county, state or country should be left with a hole in it for three to five years,” she said.

Fox Sir Louis lives south of the gap in New Franklin. But her school district is Norton City Schools.

“All of us are in New Franklin, but all of us are in Norton schools,” she said. “If you have multiple kids leaving at multiple times. ...”

Water woes are another concern

Even with a fix to span the gap, other concerns remain, said both women. Development along Eastern Road has brought increased water flow in heavy storms. One house in particular has been affected more than others, they said.

“The person who lives in the house is concerned that they have not properly planned for the water coming,” said Fox Sir Louis.

“I told them the last meeting they had, ‘I don’t think you people realize the volume of water that comes down here,’ ” said Osborne.

Fox Sir Louis said efforts to reach Norton officials for updates in the three years added to frustration residents felt.

“We see now where the bridge broke down, but so did communications,” she said.

Leave a message for Alan Ashworth at 330-996-3859 or email him at aashworth@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @newsalanbeaconj.

5 facts about pothole problems

1. There are an estimated 55 million potholes in the U.S.

2. Archbald, Pennsylvania, is home to the world's biggest pothole. It's 42 feet wide, could hold 140,000 gallons of meltwater and will never be repaired. It was created by glacial forces during the last ice age.

3. Pothole damage alone cost Americans roughly $26.5 billion in repairs last year, according to the American Automobile Association.

4. Also according to AAA, U.S. drivers spend nearly $3 billion a year fixing damage caused by potholes.

5. Ohio is fifth-worst state in the nation for potholes, according to autoblog.com.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: As third anniversary of Kungle Road collapse nears, fix now in sight