Some Downtown Roads Reopen Ahead Of Schedule, But Part Of 10th St. To Remain Closed For About 8 Weeks For Sinkhole Repairs
PITTSBURGH (KDKA/AP) -- For commuters downtown, there is good news and bad news after a gigantic sinkhole opened, partially swallowing a Port Authority bus.
Pittsburgh Public Safety officials say Penn Avenue and part of 10th Street have reopened this morning ahead of schedule.
Officials say 10th Street is now reopened between Fort Duquesne Boulevard and Penn Avenue.
However, another portion of 10th Street won't be reopening for more than a month. That's the bad news.
According to Pittsburgh Public Safety, the busy road will be closed between Liberty and Penn Avenues for about eight weeks.
The city said Tuesday that a contractor was removing concrete and debris from the hole that opened Monday, and utilities will work on securing fiberoptic lines there. The city's water and sewer authority will then check for damage to water, sewer and storm lines. There are also electric, gas and other lines below ground.
After repairs are made, the sinkhole will be partially filled, a concrete layer poured, and sidewalks and curbs repaired.
"In a couple weeks, we may get an idea what the primary cause was," Mayor Bill Peduto said. "It was not the waterline."
Peduto is not sure if the city will have to dig up other parts of 10th Street to fix the issue.
"There will be surveys done before the work is done, to have an idea of what kind of damage we are looking at in the adjacent areas," Peduto said.
WATCH: KDKA's Chris Hoffman reports live from downtown Pittsburgh.
Officials also said the sinkhole shows the need for an infrastructure bill from Congress.
"We need infrastructure investment in this country in the worst way," Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald said.
"If we are going to continue to grow as a region, we've got to continue to invest in infrastructure," Fitzgerald added.
Fitzgerald said if lawmakers don't act, a sinkhole like this could become a routine.
"If we don't fix this, it's probably going to get worse," he said.
Penn Ave is now open, and 10th Street between Ft Duquesne and Penn will open shortly, both ahead of schedule.
Bad news: 10th between Liberty and Penn could be closed for 6 to 8 weeks. Expect delays to your commute.
— Pgh Public Safety (@PghPublicSafety) October 29, 2019
Impacting not just drivers, but Port Authority riders as well. The current bus stops of Penn Avenue and Garrison Place and Penn Avenue and 9th Street are discontinued for the time being. The bus routes impacted include the 29, 31, G31, 86, 88 and 91.
29, 31 & G31 will not miss any stops inbound but will miss Penn at Garrison and Penn at 9th outbound
— Port Authority PGH (@PGHtransit) October 28, 2019
Discontinued stops (inbound): Penn at Garrison and Ninth at Penn. established stops (inbound): Penn at 11th (existing) and Ninth at Penn
— Port Authority PGH (@PGHtransit) October 28, 2019
The lengthy closure was announced Monday evening as crews lifted the 33,000-pound bus out of the 20-feet deep sinkhole using two massive cranes.
The area, officials say, is undermined and engineers have to assess the stability and safety of the street surface.
"We should just count on the road being closed for the next six to eight weeks," said Karina Ricks, Pittsburgh's director of the Department of Mobility and Infrastructure. "We'll work with the utilities to restore it, get everything back in place, and then restore the street. We don't anticipate any long-term closures on Penn at this time."
Pittsburgh Public Safety Director Wendell Hissrich said initial assessments don't indicate any major damage to the water or power lines that run under 10th Street.
PHOTO GALLERY: Downtown Sinkhole Swallows Bus
The sinkhole opened up as the bus was waiting at a red light during the Monday morning rush hour. The back half of the bus was swallowed up. A car nearly went into the hole as well, but managed to stop right on the edge.
The drivers of the car and bus were not injured, but the only passenger on the bus was taken to Allegheny General Hospital to be checked over for minor injuries.
"We were able to review the surveillance footage from inside the bus which, you could imagine, was pretty harrowing especially for the operator and for the passenger," Port Authority spokesman Adam Brandolph said.
The bus was finally hoisted out of the hole around 9:30 p.m. Monday.
Stay with KDKA for the latest on this developing story.