Massive Water Main Break Causes Road Buckling, Shuts Down Traffic In Arlington

By: KDKA-TV News Staff

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- A massive water main break shut down several roads and left many homes without water in the Arlington neighborhood of Pittsburgh Tuesday morning.

The break happened on a 16-inch main near Parkwood Road and caused the roadway to buckle in multiple areas, with several pieces of the road flowing to the bottom.

Crews are now busy cleaning up and surveying the significant damage done.

"We've been here for about 20 years and we've had water main breaks, but this is bad, this isn't good at all," said Jennifer Wilson.

Jennifer Wilson tells KDKA it was her husband who woke her up just before 5 Tuesday morning, saying water was gushing out of the road.

"He's like, 'get up, get up! Call the water company.' I called 911," said Wilson.

KDKA's news crew at the scene witnessed the water company arriving to attempt to shut off the water around 5:30 a.m. Crews weren't able to shut it off until 7:30 a.m.

"We looked out the window and we didn't have any water. So then I looked out the front and it's running down, taking our street with it," said Snooks Buechel.

This isn't the first time neighbors have had to deal with a broken road and no water.

"There was one like right across from the telephone pole. That was a small one. And then there was one at the top of the road," said Buechel.

Penn American Water told KDKA's Lindsay Ward that approximately 40 homes are without water and that service will be restored Tuesday night. It's unclear what caused the break.

Engineers are on scene assessing the damage. Drivers should avoid the area and find alternative routes. At this time, there's no word on just how long repairs will take.

Stay with KDKA for more on this developing story.