Several voids discovered after Charleroi trench collapse

As an investigation is underway into what caused a trench to collapse in Charleroi Thursday night, trapping a worker for hours in dirt nearly 15 feet beneath the surface, new concerns have been raised in the borough.

"It's not a good situation for public safety, per se," said Charleroi Fire Chief Robert Whiten Jr. 

KDKA-TV has learned there are pre-existing conditions in the roads throughout the borough, likely from aging infrastructure, where small voids have popped up under the surface.

Whiten said several were found after the fact on Thursday night.

"You don't realize how dangerous it was until you start moving equipment around, start looking after, after the fact, and say, 'boy, it was a dangerous situation,'" Whiten said.

He said once the rescue mission was complete, emergency crews discovered several voids in the trench.

"I would say the voids were probably maybe 6-foot by 6-foot," Whiten said.

Since the beginning of the year, Columbia Gas said it's been working to replace aging infrastructure through a pipeline replacement project. A spokesperson confirms to KDKA-TV that crews have encountered small voids under the surface since the project started.

"It's something the borough has been aware of. It hasn't impacted the work (crews) have been doing," a spokesperson with Columbia Gas said.

"The town's over 100 years old, and its sewer system, from what I understand, is not in good shape," Whiten said.

Columbia Gas said the voids come from pre-existing conditions before the pipeline replacement project started.

Just over a week ago, Whiten said a tri-axle truck fell into a sinkhole about a block from where the trench collapse happened. He said crews found voids there, too.

"Up there on Seventh Street, you could probably put a couple cars down in there. That's how big it was," Whiten said.

KDKA-TV reached out to Charleroi's borough manager, who said the water authority determined there was a break in the pipe that handles stormwater, and instead of water flowing through a pipe into a catch basin and to the river, the water was flowing into the ground, washing away the underlay, likely causing the sinkhole.

Borough manager Joe Manning confirmed there were voids found Thursday night and after the sinkhole formed.

KDKA-TV asked the borough manager if there are any concerns as work on the gas line replacement project continues throughout the borough since more voids have been popping up. He said Columbia Gas has never reported the voids to the borough.

Whiten said his crews will be taking extra precautions moving forward when heading to emergencies.

"We tell guys, you know, be careful. Don't pick up the speed like we normally do. Take your time. If you see the road and it looks like it's got a little lump in it, or doesn't look safe, you know, stop and go to another way, or take your time going over it," Whiten said.

Manning told KDKA-TV that once the trench is repaired on McKean Avenue, the borough will likely bring in engineers to do underground sonic testing.

"The testing would penetrate the black top and send out sound waves to get a picture of where is solid and see where any voids may be," Manning said.

In the meantime, Columbia Gas said after the collapse Thursday night, crews were called to the scene after a mini excavator fell into the trench and hit a customer service line.

"There was a shut off valve within the service line that automatically shuts the gas off," a spokesperson said. "Crews capped it and made sure everything was safe."

A spokesperson said once OSHA completes its investigation, crews will have access again and will reconnect the line. He said it is not impacting any customers.

Work on the replacement project throughout the borough is expected to last through the end of the year.