Crews Keeping Eye On Washington Boulevard Due To Landslide Threat
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PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - On Washington Boulevard, there are new concerns. In addition to flooding, officials are worried about landslides.
Drivers on Allegheny River Boulevard who hoped to turn onto Washington Boulevard in Highland Park were forced to turn around and find alternate routes Friday morning.
The road was closed due to the concerns of landslides following this week's heavy rainfall and subsequent flooding. It has since re-opened, but crews will be keeping a watchful eye on the hillside.
"We really have to keep an eye on that hillside. The ground is saturated, just like a lot of hillsides. We're seeing a lot of water," Pittsburgh Director of Operations Guy Costa said.
The bright red flashing lights of the floodgates alerted drivers that the road was closed.
Since Wednesday, no travel was permitted on Washington Boulevard from Allegheny River Boulevard to Negly Run Boulevard.
Costa was at the area Wednesday night to see the flood damage.
Plans to re-open the stretch of roadway on Thursday were delayed.
"We were getting ready to open it yesterday afternoon and a tree came down with some wires and a light tower, so we're thankful that we didn't re-open it," Costa said.
Washington Boulevard opened just before 8 a.m. Friday and within moments, a huge tree fell onto the roadway.
Fortunately, no one was injured when the tree fell.
Crews worked quickly to remove the downed tree from the roadway.
Costa says they will keep an eye on the road, because more trees could fall and the threat of landslides remains.
"We're going to keep a good eye on Washington Boulevard, there's still a lot of water still running off Washington Boulevard. We got it contained, it's going into the storm water system, so everything is fine there. But, we're going to keep an eye on it. If we see some more issues with trees or flooding, we will drop the gates, if necessary," he said.