Ross Township Landslide Still Causing Problems Months After Initial Impact
ROSS TOWNSHIP (KDKA) -- A landslide on Reis Run Road has been getting worse, covering the roadway in the North Hills.
Torrential spring rains caused flooding, triggering a landslide in the area on May 31.
Jim Capes watched the hillside that supports his Ross Township home slide down to Reis Run Road.
"I don't know what to do right now," Capes said. "I'm pretty lost."
Since the landslide, Jim's home has been condemned and it must be torn down before PennDOT can stabilize the hillside and get the road reopened.
Reis Run has been closed for over four months. And because the slide was still moving up until recently, nothing has been done to clean up.
"Not having Reis Run has been a major inconvenience to our residents and the residents in our neighboring communities," Ross Township Commission Chairman Steve Korbel said.
WATCH: KDKA's John Shumway reports live from Ross Township.
PennDOT District 11 Executive Cheryl Moon-Siriani said they're hoping to move past the legal issues involving the still mortgaged home soon and get to work.
She said repair time "could be six weeks to two months once we get a crew out there."
The Reis Run Road slide, while one of the most urgent, is only the tip of the landslide iceberg.
"Right now, we have 121 active slides in Allegheny, Beaver, and Lawrence Counties, which make up our district," Moon-Siriani said.
Allegheny County Public Works Director Stephen Shanley said the county is dealing with the same problem.
"We have 61 slides throughout the county," he said.
Penndot went into 2019 with a $6 million budget for emergency slide repairs.
Shanley said it costs anywhere from $500,000 to $1 million to repair a landslide.
Moon-Siriani said District 11's slides would cost $150 million to repair.
"This year, we're investing about $20 million. But still, the number of slides is growing faster than we can repair them," Moon-Siriani said.
Like most municipalities, Ross Township does what it can with limited means.
They have been forced to do a form of landslide triage, prioritizing the needs of the many over the needs of the few.
"If they are school bus routes or the only way in and out of communities, or emergency vehicles, or the only way they can get to business or residences — they go to the top of the list," said Moon-Siriani.
