A Sewickley Hills homeowner says a state repair job has left him effectively stranded at the top of his own hill. Don King contends PennDOT tore out his driveway after a landslide and, despite several attempts to rebuild it, has never given him a route that actually holds up. He says the replacement driveway cracks and slips further down the hillside every time it rains, leaving the only access a narrow, muddy path cut across a neighbor’s property. King worries an ambulance or fire truck could not make it up to his house, and fears summer programs at the nearby Fern Hollow Nature Center could be disrupted if the situation drags on.
Repeated Fixes, Same Collapse
According to CBS Pittsburgh, PennDOT crews first removed King’s driveway so they could reach the unstable hillside beneath it. King says crews have tried three different times to put the driveway back, and each version has failed once the rain returns. In a statement to the station, PennDOT said its “staff have been in communication with the property owner and are thoroughly investigating the situation.”
Fern Hollow Road Gets Reinforced, Driveway Does Not
PennDOT District 11 previously announced that slide remediation on Fern Hollow Road (Route 4032) began in June 2025, shutting down the stretch between Audubon Road and Camp Meeting Road while crews worked to stabilize the slope. King told reporters that the rock dug out during that project was then used to rebuild his driveway on top of a slide without any type of retention, and he argues the agency should install pinned, concrete-reinforced supports similar to the ones used beneath the roadway, according to local reporting.
New Insurance Program Would Not Fix Old Damage
At the state level, lawmakers have advanced House Bill 589 to create a Landslide and Sinkhole Insurance Program aimed at helping homeowners purchase coverage for slope damage. The bill language notes that coverage can be voided if a landslide occurred before a homeowner applies for the policy, which means it would not pay for losses that happened before enrollment. As spelled out in the text, the program is designed to cover future damage only and would not retroactively apply to existing slide problems like King’s.
King Pushes For A Lasting Fix Before The Next Storms
King says he is done waiting quietly and plans to keep pressing PennDOT for a permanent repair before heavier rains return. PennDOT maintains that its staff is still in contact with the homeowner while options are evaluated. Engineers caution that long-term slope stabilization work - including anchors, proper drainage systems, and retaining structures - can be expensive and can take months to design and build, even after a plan is in place.
