PennDOT, Pittsburgh public works prep to pump floodwaters, clear debris
Trash, debris, and seemingly part of a dock floated past the Point State Park fountain Thursday. The flooded "bathtub" of the Parkway East is causing traffic delays ahead of the Pirates' home opener Friday, when thousands of fans are expected to pass through downtown Pittsburgh. PennDOT, Pittsburgh public works are preparing to pump floodwaters, clear debris, and install pumps in place to pump water out of the flooded bathtub area of Interstate 376. The city hopes $33 million of federal grant money will lessen the chances of this happening in the future. The National Weather Service reported that the river crested at nearly 29 feet following this week's storms. The flooding has caused significant traffic delays on the parkway and caused significant backups on the Parkway. The mayor's office has compiled a list of alternate routes for those heading to North Shore from east of the city.
Published : a month ago by Kalea Gunderson, https://www.facebook.com/ in Weather
OF COURSE, PIRATES FANS TOMORROW. THE RIVER, CRESTING AT NEARLY 29FT AFTER THIS WEEK’S STORMS, CAUSING FLOODING ON THE PARKWAY, WHICH COULD MEAN TRAFFIC BACKUPS AS THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE HEAD TO PNC PARK TOMORROW FOR OPENING DAY. TONIGHT, PENNDOT OFFERING SOME ALTERNATE ROUTES TO HELP YOU GET HERE. TRASH, DEBRIS AND SEEMINGLY PART OF A DOCK FLOATING PAST THE POINT STATE PARK FOUNTAIN TONIGHT. PENNDOT PUTTING PUMPS IN PLACE TO BEGIN PUMPING WATER OUT OF THE FLOODED BATHTUB AREA OF INTERSTATE 376 AND HOPING $33 MILLION OF FEDERAL GRANT MONEY TO DO CONSTRUCTION ON THE BATHTUB WILL LESSEN THE CHANCES OF THIS HAPPENING IN THE FUTURE. WHAT IT WILL DO IS IT WILL INCREASE THE HEIGHT OF THAT WALL TO, YOU KNOW, ROUGHLY 30FT. SO WE’LL GET AN ADDITIONAL FIVE FEET BEFORE IT FLOODS. SO IT MAY NOT HANDLE YOUR TOTAL DISASTROUS FLOOD, BUT IT WOULD HANDLE, YOU KNOW, THIS FLOOD WOULD HAVE BEEN CONTAINED AT THAT POINT. BUT RIGHT NOW, THIS IS THE REALITY AND IT’S CAUSING SIGNIFICANT BACKUPS ON THE PARKWAY WITH OPENING DAY TOMORROW, PENNDOT SUGGESTING ALTERNATE ROUTES INTO DOWNTOWN PITTSBURGH AND TO THE NORTH SHORE, FOR EXAMPLE, YOU COULD TAKE I-376 ONTO THE BOULEVARD OF THE ALLIES TO NORTHBOUND I-579 OR TAKE ROUTE 22 TO THE TURNPIKE WESTBOUND, THEN MAKE YOUR WAY TO ROUTE 910 AND ONTO ROUTE 28 SOUTHBOUND INTO THE CITY. I’D SAY AT LEAST AN EXTRA 15 TO 20 MINUTES, LEAVING, AND IT’S USUALLY PRETTY BAD WITH RUSH HOUR, SO IT’S DEFINITELY BEEN WORSE. THE CITY OF PITTSBURGH CREWS, EAGER TO START CLEANUP. WHEN IS UP TO MOTHER NATURE, AND SO NOW IT’S JUST A MATTER OF WAITING FOR THOSE WATERS TO RECEDE. UNFORTUNATELY, THE REALITY IS THAT THAT’S GOING TO TAKE A COUPLE OF DAYS TO HAPPEN. OUR DPW CREWS ARE READY AND ON CALL FOR WHEN THOSE LEVELS GET LOW ENOUGH FOR US TO GO OUT THERE AND START DOING THE WORK OF OF CLEANING UP THOSE AREAS THAT HAVE BEEN CLOSED DUE TO THE FLOODING FOR A FULL LIST OF THOSE ALTERNATE ROUTES, JUST CLICK ON THIS STORY ON OUR WTAE
The flooded "bathtub" of the Parkway East is causing traffic backups ahead of the Pirates' home opener Friday, when thousands are expected to pass through downtown Pittsburgh. Trash, debris, and seemingly part of a dock floated past the Point State Park fountain Thursday. The river crested at nearly 29 feet following this week’s storms, according to the National Weather Service.PennDOT put pumps in place to begin pumping water out of the flooded bathtub area of Interstate 376.Assistant district executive for maintenance for PennDOT’s District 11, Lori Musto, said she hopes the $33 million of federal grant money to do construction on the bathtub will lessen the chances of this happening.“What it will do is it will increase the height of that wall to, you know, roughly 30 feet. So, we'll get an additional five feet before it floods. So, it may not handle your total disastrous flood, but it would handle, you know, this flood would have been contained at that point,” Musto said.The flooding caused significant backups on the parkway. With opening day on Friday, PennDOT has compiled a list of alternate routes for those heading to North Shore from east of the city.Video below: Sky 4 over floodwaters in downtown Pittsburgh and along the North Shore.“I’d say at least an extra 15, 20 minutes leaving. And it's usually pretty bad with rush hour. So it's definitely been worse,” Katie Lape said.Communications director for Mayor Ed Gainey’s Office, Maria Montaño, said DPW is eager to ready to begin cleanup, but the timing will be up to Mother Nature.“Now it's just a matter of waiting for those waters to recede. Unfortunately, the reality is that that's going to take a couple of days to happen. Our DPW crews are ready and on-call for when those levels get low enough for us to go out there and start doing the work of cleaning up those areas that have been closed due to the flooding,” Montaño said. The flooded "bathtub" of the Parkway East is causing traffic backups ahead of the Pirates' home opener Friday, when thousands are expected to pass through downtown Pittsburgh. Trash, debris, and seemingly part of a dock floated past the Point State Park fountain Thursday. The river crested at nearly 29 feet following this week’s storms, according to the National Weather Service. PennDOT put pumps in place to begin pumping water out of the flooded bathtub area of Interstate 376. Assistant district executive for maintenance for PennDOT’s District 11, Lori Musto, said she hopes the $33 million of federal grant money to do construction on the bathtub will lessen the chances of this happening. “What it will do is it will increase the height of that wall to, you know, roughly 30 feet. So, we'll get an additional five feet before it floods. So, it may not handle your total disastrous flood, but it would handle, you know, this flood would have been contained at that point,” Musto said. The flooding caused significant backups on the parkway. With opening day on Friday, PennDOT has compiled a list of alternate routes for those heading to North Shore from east of the city. Video below: Sky 4 over floodwaters in downtown Pittsburgh and along the North Shore. “I’d say at least an extra 15, 20 minutes leaving. And it's usually pretty bad with rush hour. So it's definitely been worse,” Katie Lape said. Communications director for Mayor Ed Gainey’s Office, Maria Montaño, said DPW is eager to ready to begin cleanup, but the timing will be up to Mother Nature. “Now it's just a matter of waiting for those waters to recede. Unfortunately, the reality is that that's going to take a couple of days to happen. Our DPW crews are ready and on-call for when those levels get low enough for us to go out there and start doing the work of cleaning up those areas that have been closed due to the flooding,” Montaño said.