A night of heavy rains closes major throughways in Pittsburgh area
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - Numerous areas throughout the Pittsburgh region are facing flooding risks amid continued heavy overnight rain after a flood warning was issued for all of Southwestern Pennsylvania.
Heavy rains close "The Bathtub" causing morning commute headache
Meanwhile, water levels continue to rise throughout Pittsburgh Wednesday after a historic amount of rain poured down on the Steel City, forcing PennDOT to close major corridors like the 'Bathtub' area of Parkway East Inbound.
The storm caused folks like Angela Meyer extra time to get to work from the Bridgeville area, with cars backed up on the bridges and tunnels.
"We were delayed by almost an hour," Meyer said. "Just trying to get through all of the flooding and all of the traffic."
The same went for Joss Darling, who lives on the South Side.
"He's late for work," Darling said.
PennDOT decided to shut down the 10th Street Bypass in the early morning hours as the Ohio River got higher and higher, eventually reaching more than 22 feet, flooding the corridor, and the Riverwalk both downtown and on the North Shore.
Andrew Woodley was frustrated, but took it in stride, by listening to a podcast.
"That doesn't make life any easier," Woodley said. "With all of the rain we got I mean, just got to be patient."
He knew that the commute home could be just as bad after crews also closed the 'Bathtub' area of the Parkway East Inbound, which floods when levels reach 25 feet.
"Nothing much I can do," Woodley said.
However, this may not be the case in the future, well at least in about a decade. Earlier this year PennDOT told KDKA they're going to raise the flood wall of the 'Bathtub' by about two feet, and redo the pump and drainage system, all using federal funds.
In the meantime, we'll have to see what Mother Nature brings.
"You have to just deal with it and go with the flow, just like the water," Meyer said.