Crumbling, Collapsing Road In Pitcairn Closed Until Further Notice
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PITCAIRN (KDKA) - A road in Pitcairn is closed until further notice after it started to crumble and collapse Monday afternoon.
By Tuesday, Hillside Avenue continued to get worse.
"While we [were] on scene, actually had it taken down to a one-lane highway. We had four vehicles come by. One was a school bus that almost got into an accident," said Pitcairn Police Chief Scott Farally.
The executive decision was made to shut the road down in both directions. On Tuesday, crews were out doing what they could to assess the problem.
Officials said the borough has been dealing with the issue since February.
"This is when the county declared it an emergency, due to the landslides. We noticed there was more shifting. Trees were shifting. It was endangering a structure further up the left, a vacant building," said Farally.
Right now, the homes that sit along Hillside Avenue are not at risk. However, there is some concern for homes that sit below.
So far, no evacuations have been necessary.
"We've been working very close with the county on this. We applied for a grant recently. About a half-million dollar grant for this road," said Farally. "Today they delivered us jersey barriers which will be filled up with water by a local water company to prevent any future cars from going up and down this road."
The borough is working with Allegheny County Emergency Services and notified all transportation services like the Port Authority that the road is closed until further notice.