A woman said her mother’s house in Gary, Indiana, is crumbling before their eyes and the city has not done anything about it, despite their complaints about an increase in heavy truck traffic in front of the property.
Joyce Laws said her mother, also named Joyce Laws, has lived in a house off 25th Avenue in Gary for more than thirty years. But she said the home’s foundation is being damaged by tractor trailers zipping past their home.
“It shakes the house. It shakes the lamps,” Laws said.
There is a slightly sunken pavement around a manhole in the street in front of the house. The family said large trucks often roll over that spot and that is what’s causing the house to jolt.
“One night, my phone was on the dresser, a truck went by and my cell phone light popped on,” Laws said.
The family said the shakes are causing nails to pop out of the home’s interior walls.
There is currently road construction at the intersection of Grant Street and west bound I-80/94. As a result, truck traffic is being detoured to 25th Avenue.
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A spokesperson for the City of Gary said the avenue is designated as a truck route. Laws argues there are nearby road signs that say “no trucks” and that police have ticketed trucks for years. She also said in recent months that the street in front of her mother’s house seems to be more like an interstate.
Laws said the city should install visible signs warning truck drivers not to use 25th Avenue near her mother’s house. The family said it also wants the pavement around the manhole to be leveled.
“Our house is going to come crumbling down like a house of cards because you are weakening our foundation with every bump,” Laws said. “It’s gotta be stopped.”
The city spokesperson said the traffic department has responded to the resident’s complaint and is assessing the situation.
