Route 30 Collapses In East Pittsburgh, Emergency Declarations Issued
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PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Part of Route 30 collapsed and fell 30 to 40 feet, damaging an apartment building in East Pittsburgh on Saturday.
All other apartment buildings in the area have been evacuated.
North Braddock, East Pittsburgh, PennDOT and Pennsylvania have issued emergency declarations regarding the landslide.
One resident of the apartment that collapsed told KDKA that she has been evacuated from the apartment to a hotel on Friday.
MORE DETAILS: 2 Apartment Buildings Destroyed In Route 30 Collapse
Another resident told KDKA all seven apartment complexes have now been evacuated as of Saturday morning. Residents were required to leave the buildings immediately and only residents that needed to retrieve critical items such as medication were allowed to return accompanied by firefighters.
The landslide had already forced the closure of Route 30 in East Pittsburgh along Electric Avenue, Friday Afternoon.
During a press conference, PennDOT confirmed that it was caused by a landslide and said that the road fell 30 to 40 feet. Part of the road damaged one of the apartment buildings below it but that building had already been evacuated.
PennDOT is planning to drill down into the slide to determine exactly what will be needed to permanently stop the slide. The time-table for repairs of the hillside are on the order of months.
The apartment complexes beneath the slide will need to remain uninhabited until the slide is fully repaired and the road rebuilt.
PennDOT will be providing housing for everyone displaced from the apartment complexes. The Olympia banquet hall is also hosting some of those residents as well. In total, 29 units were evacuated including 31 evacuees.
DETOURS: PennDOT Posts New Route 30 Detours Following Road Collapse
The properties beneath the slide that were damaged will be demolished.
The emergency declarations that have been declared will allow expedited contracting procedures to expedite work on the landslide and repairs.
No one was injured in the slide.
