Water Main Break Shuts Down Part Of Route 51, Buses Detoured
WEST MIFFLIN (KDKA) -- A water main break prompted the closure of part of busy Route 51 near the Century III Mall Thursday morning in West Mifflin.
KDKA's Amy Wadas Reports:
Update on water main break on Route 51 in West Mifflin...
Posted by Amy Wadas KDKA on Thursday, August 22, 2019
The northbound lanes of Route 51 between Glenburn and Mall Drives was shut down for the morning rush hour and into the afternoon. Traffic continued to flow in the southbound lanes, but some traffic cones are up to direct vehicles in the area.
Firefighters blocked the area off as the road began to buckle.
Penn American Water crews managed to turn off the water around 8:30 a.m., shutting off an eight-inch line that's more than 50 years old under Route 51 on the West Mifflin, Pleasant Hills border.
Once they did, crews drilled away to get to the problem. Eleven businesses were affected by the break, including Denny's. Service was turned back on by 2:15 p.m.
WATCH: KDKA's Amy Wadas reports live
"We are going to have to find somewhere else to get breakfast this morning," said Uniontown resident William Shipley.
They traveled here all the way from Uniontown.
"The overall plan is we had a doctor's appointment. We have another appointment in a couple of hours from now so we were going to have breakfast and kill some time instead of going back to Uniontown," said Shipley.
"We had two detours just getting here. Not a long detour but a little inconvenient," said West Mifflin resident Frank Dusi.
Another break happened on Sunrise Drive at Old Lebanon Church Road. This was a 70 year old main. Thirty-three customers were impacted by this break, and four homes received water damage.
The water is now shut off! It was turned off right before 8:30 a.m. pic.twitter.com/06oggdq660
— Amy Wadas (@AmyWadas) August 22, 2019
The break happened around 4:30 a.m., forcing the nearby Denny's restaurant to close due to low water pressure.
Denny's on Route 51 is now closed! They said they have low water pressure. pic.twitter.com/7OrSgqHhE4
— Amy Wadas (@AmyWadas) August 22, 2019
The break also impacted Port Authority bus riders.
Three bus routes are being detoured around the area, and the Port Authority is trying to get the word out to its riders.
They say the Y1 and Y46 buses will use the Century III Mall parking lot to avoid the break. Those buses will not miss any of their stops at this time.
However, the 59 Mon Valley to North Versailles will miss its stops at the South Mall entrance and at National City as it detours through the mall parking lot.
WATCH: KDKA's Pam Surano reports live from Route 51.
Penn American Water hopes to get service restored for both areas by late Thursday afternoon.
The northbound lanes of Route 51 are expected to re-open to traffic by Friday afternoon.