PennDOT Hopes To Reopen West Carson Street For Wednesday Evening Commute
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Part of West Carson Street of the South Shore is closed after a landslide Tuesday morning.
It happened around 3:30 a.m. near Highmark Stadium.
Richie Roberto said he and a co-worker had left the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette building just up the street for a cup of coffee.
"I was driving down to get a cup of coffee and there's a big cloud of smoke. I had a friend with me and we couldn't see anything. And then, at the last second he said, 'Watch, watch,' and I already hit the boulder," he said.
Both of the front airbags in the car deployed. Fortunately, both men were not injured.
Meanwhile, a Norfolk Southern railroad crew was on top of the hill after detectors alerted them that the ground was shifting.
At that time, all rail traffic was halted.
Crews could not begin work on the hillside until daybreak. Mike Gable of Pittsburgh Public Works said the city is working with PennDOT and the railroad.
"We'll have a better assessment after we have a better plan of what we are going to do with the debris, a better plan to let them know what we are going to do with Carson Street," he said.
Crews continued working late Tuesday night to clear loose debris that tumbled down the Mt. Washington hillside, blocking Norfolk Southern railroad tracks, between the Ft. Pitt Bridge and Station Square.
One railroad track was reopened to train traffic Tuesday afternoon. A second track remained closed as the cleanup progressed.
Barring any additional landslides or other problems, PennDOT says it hopes to reopen West Carson Street to at least two lanes of traffic in time for the Wednesday evening commute.
Until then, the road will be closed between the ramp from West Carson Street to the Fort Pitt Bridge to Commerce Drive at Station Square.
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