Crews worked Tuesday to fill a sinkhole encroaching on Route 30 at the border of Greensburg and Hempfield as more rain moved toward the area.
Fencing and orange cones blocked off the gigantic hole on a hillside along the highway next to Towne Square and Greensburg Commerce Park, which houses Gander Outdoors and Dino’s. The hole is on private property, said Valerie Petersen, PennDOT District 12 spokeswoman.
“We’re just monitoring it,” she said.
The hole opened after last week’s heavy rains, said Sen. Kim Ward, R-Hempfield. She got a phone call Saturday morning.
“It’s from all the rain,” Ward said. “We have so many storm water problems right with the rain.”
Remnants of Hurricane Barry, which made landfall over the weekend in Louisiana as a category 1 storm, were expected to reach Western Pennsylvania by Wednesday and produce showers and thunderstorms through Thursday morning, the NWS forecast.
Heavy downpours last Thursday caused flooding around the region and at least two sinkholes, one in North Huntingdon and the other in Ross Township, Allegheny County. Vehicles whizzed by on Route 30 Tuesday afternoon as heavy machinery moved dirt around in the hole.
“They’re trying to fill that up so it doesn’t wash out (Route) 30,” Ward said.
RELATED
• PennDOT looking for cause to Route 28 flooding
• Ross Township issues emergency declaration to fix sinkhole
• Lower Burrell man unsure what to do about backyard sinkhole
Storms dumped a record-setting amount of rain, surpassing 2018’s year-to-date total. Rainfall recorded at Pittsburgh International Airport on Thursday brought the region’s official precipitation total for 2019 to 30.02 inches, ahead of last year’s record-breaking 29.35 inches in the same time frame, according to the National Weather Service.
North Huntingdon KinderCare was evacuated Thursday when the sinkhole opened up, encroaching on the center’s playground. A large drainage pipe collapsed, officials said.
Ross officials issued an emergency declaration Friday that allowed the township to repair a large sinkhole at the entrance to Waldorf Park apartments. Officials said the sinkhole was created when water flowing through an underground storm water line blew out a manhole cover, causing the pavement to collapse.
