For the past several years Fall-Mart as the locals affectionately refer to it has been trying to develop a site in a quiet little part of town into a Super Wal-mart. There had been the usual local uproar against the behemoth coming in to blight the small neighboring communities, which would be forever altered due to Wal-mart's presence. However, Kilbuck township officials approved the plan anyway a little over two years ago. Since then, accusations of kickbacks to those officials have arisen. It has gotten ugly.
Last fall, in the second such event that earned the Fall-Mart moniker, a landslide from the construction site closed down 4 lanes of traffic on this major north south route. It even continued on down the hill and closed down rail traffic along the riverbank. While the railroad traffic resumed within a week, the automobile traffic was out for a full week. Now approximately a year later, after struggling to keep on to their plans, Wal-Mart has apparently decided to cut their losses, and move on. WOO HOO (did I say that already?)
If you are interested in learning more, with some fun visuals, check out these links:
June 7, 2007: DEP Fears Another Rt. 65 Slide
March 23, 2007: Wal-Mart Assumes Control Of Route 65 Landslide Site
January 18, 2007: Kilbuck Properties Denies DEP Allegations
October 11, 2006: Hillside Shifts Again Along Rt. 65
September 25, 2006: PennDOT Opens HOV Lanes During Rt. 65 Cleanup
September 22, 2006: Rt. 65 Landslide Impacts Traffic, Trains
September 20, 2006: Landslide Closes Route 65 In Kilbuck
April 27, 2006: Rt. 65 Reopens After Rockslide
April 27, 2006: Rockslide Closes Section Of Rt. 65
A local newspaper writer even penned lyrics to the famous woody Guthrie son in honor of the landslide: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06296/732189-152.stm
Let's all go dahn to Sunny Jims and hoist one in honor of the end of the Wal-Mart spectre!
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