Cleanup begins after storms
Flooded businesses working to reopen
Grateful for their safety and dreading the work ahead, homeowners, employees and construction crews began the messy process Friday of managing the fallout of Thursday’s torrential rains and widespread flooding across the region.
Along Route 130 in Penn Hills, one of many main arteries that were swamped, employees at businesses shoveled mud from driveways in the afternoon sun, preparing to reopen.
Interstate Battery System employee Derek Schindler said the storm flooded the auto parts store and totaled two of its vehicles. Employees spent all day reversing the damage, hoping to reopen Monday and avoid even more lost business.
Next door, Micah Wilkerson spent three hours clearing the driveway of his mother’s bar, Genuine Pub, of dirt and debris. Nonetheless, Mr. Wilkerson said they “got lucky.”
“That little hill [ next to the pub] saved us,” he said. “Everyone is safe.”
Ohio Township resident Joanna Doven was similarly glad to be safe, though she said she was “livid” over the downpour’s damage. According to Ms. Doven, an
ineffective drain and a swale caused a surge of water to shatter the window of her basement Thursday, casting shards of glass across the space where her children often play video games.
“We recognize we’re fortunate that no one was hurt,” Ms. Doven said. “It’s just the stress. It’s very stressful. I woke up today and I felt like I was just hit by a train.”
The flood destroyed a $ 70,000 renovation of the basement the family recently completed, according to Ms. Doven. Among the items lost was a computer where she stored her children’s baby photos. Now, she and her neighbors are considering taking legal action over the drainage systems.
Several major thoroughfares that flooded continue to be affected, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.
Traffic on Route 1003’ s Kittanning Pike Bridge in O’Hara will be restricted to one lane for emergency cleaning operations for more than a week, PennDOT announced. Crews will clear debris from under the bridge weekdays from July 15 through July 23.
A sinkhole that opened on a Ross roadway Thursday morning continued to grow Friday, stretching across McKnight Circle to reach the parking lots of the Bed Bath & Beyond and First National Bank that bracket the street.
A construction crew was still searching in the afternoon for the pipe that caused the issue, which it must repair before it can address the hole.
Though the road will be closed until further notice and crews will work through the weekend, the sinkhole poses no immediate threat to surrounding buildings, according to the Ross Department of Public Works.
New problems emerged Friday. Landslides caused by the storms have forced the indefinite closure of roads in Bell Acres and Penn Hills.
A portion of Camp Meeting Road between Beech Ridge Drive and Fern Hollow Road in Bell Acres is closed, as is a portion of Nadine Road between Allegheny River Boulevard and Lincoln Road in Penn Hills, the Allegheny County Department of Public Works announced.
The landslide on Nadine Road occurred in a section of the roadway that flooded Thursday morning. The landslide overturned a retaining wall and caused a portion of the road to collapse.
The county was planning detours for both roads.
The weather for the next few days should help dry things. Sunny or mostly sunny skies are in the forecast through Tuesday, with high temperatures in the mid- to high 80s each day, with only a slight chance of rain Saturday night, according to the National Weather Service.