Federal agency to pay $9M toward Route 30 collapse

Residents may be able to return next month

The federal government has declared the collapse of Route 30 in East Pittsburgh an emergency— meaning it will pay at least $9 million toward the costs to secure and repair the site — and displaced residents should be able to move back next month, state officials said Monday.

The highway reopened June 27, but the collapse in April destroyed two of the five buildings at the Electric Avenue Apartments, and the apartments in the remaining buildings are still closed.

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation has been housing residents at local hotels or with family. Ten of the residents were permanently displaced and 21 others hope to return to the apartments. PennDOT District Executive Cheryl Moon-Sirianni said at a news conference Monday that half of those who were permanently displaced may be able to move into the remaining buildings because some tenants have found other housing.

Golden Triangle Construction needs to finish and paint a 400-foot retaining wall, reinstall waterlines and repave the parking lot at the complex before tenants can return to the remaining three buildings.

Ms. Moon-Sirianni said the agency meets with the tenants weekly to update them on progress and ensure that their needs are being met. The agency will try to find comparable housing elsewhere for those who don’t want to return to the complex.

Also on Monday, PennDOT Secretary Leslie S. Richards announced that the Federal Highway Administration had declared the

Steve Mellon/Post-Gazette Reconstruction of a section of Route 30 that collapsed in April was completed at “lightning speed,” PennDOT District Executive Cheryl MoonSirianni, center, said Monday. Ms. Moon-Sirianni was among the state officials who spoke during a news conference...