Large Cleanup Effort Underway Following Flash Flooding Along Route 51
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - A massive cleanup effort is underway after heavy rains caused flooding along Route 51 Wednesday night.
Route 51 looked like a small river near Bon Air after heavy rains caused Saw Mill Run Creek to flood.
The road was shut down in both directions due to the flooding. It reopened early Thursday morning.
The flood waters swept away vehicles, a dumpster and damaged businesses.
At Fellini Auto Sales, they lost 20 cars, and their building was flooded, too.
"We don't even know where to start in here," Glenn Withers said.
Frustration is building as their business is shut down and they work around the clock to try and clean up the mess.
"The water just came from the torrential rainfall," Withers said. "We tried to move the cars, but within 5 to 10 minutes, the whole place is, like, eight feet."
Employees are still looking for missing cars.
At least three vehicles were found wedged in a creek bed along Route 51 on Thursday.
At Garrett's German Auto Repair, they only work on Mercedes Benz vehicles, and the damage was enormous. Five cars were destroyed. Their diagnostic equipment and many tools are damaged, too.
"Supposedly, they fixed the flooding issue, and it's rained hard before, but not like this," Garrett Looman said. "I've seen the water come up a little bit on 51, but not like what happened last night."
The flooding also prevented some people from leaving a Dairy Queen along Route 51. The experience was even more frightening because the building was apparently struck twice by lightning.
This isn't the first time that the area has seen flooding. While improvements have been made, Saw Mill Run Creek still tends to flood in heavy downpours.
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