The hillside continues to crumble away in Mount Washington near the LeMont Restaurant. Yet another landslide shook the area on Wednesday night. The mountainside repairs are taking longer than originally thought.
The incident closed Grandview Avenue for some time, while the P.J. McArdle Roadway is still closed to traffic.
Robert Kaczorowski, Director of Public Works for the city of Pittsburgh, admits that this incident is more serious than the ones that have occurred in the same area in the past, but the Department of Public Works and contractors are working "around the clock" to resolve the issue by Monday or Tuesday.
"It's a routine area. It's a common occurrence when you have heavy rains or spring-fall cycle because of the slope and terrain on Grandview and McArdle," he said.
Kaczorowski said after they removed approximately one hundred tons of mud, dirt, and debris from the P.J. McArdle Roadway there was still more work to be done.
"There was an area above where the slide occurred that we had some concern about, so we kept the road closed to get a better look in the daylight hours. We looked, reviewed, and inspected the area, and approximately 50-80 feet of earth and dirt showed signs of the possibility of sliding," Kaczorowski said.
Public Works called in a contractor to help remove a crevice extending more than fifty feet that raised concern and the threat of potential sliding.
The city allots $550,000 a year for landslide restoration and repair, and Kaczorowski estimates the repairs for this incident will cost around $100,000. He also notes that Public Works is currently getting quotes and taking suggestions for permanent fixes to the landslide-prone mountainside.
