-
Oct 4, 2007 3:52 pm US/Eastern
-
Digg |
Facebook |
E-mail
|
Print
PennDOT On Rte 28 Rockslide: Nobody Expected This
PennDOT's Dan Cessna says he doesn't know when all four lanes of Route 28 will reopen to traffic
Engineers are continuing to assess the safety of the hillside
PennDOT is working on an immediate plan
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) ―
PennDOT says it's still too early to determine when Route 28 will completely reopen to traffic after yesterday's rockslide because engineers must first determine when it's safe to do so.
"Our concern now," PennDOT's Dan Cessna told KDKA today, "Is there more large rocks like this that are going to fall? And that's what our engineers are assessing right now, because – quite honestly, nobody expected this."
Early Wednesday morning, huge boulders came crashing down onto the highway. A tractor-trailer slammed into the boulders -- setting off a chain reaction crash before officials shut down the highway.
After 30 years of weathering, Cessna says he thinks it's only a matter of time before more rocks come tumbling down the hillside. He says PennDOT is working on an immediate plan.
First, though, engineers must assess whether more rocks are in danger of falling – and in what areas of the hillside.
"We hope to be able to assess exactly what we're going to do within the next few days," Cessna added, "and then we would want to act on it rather quickly; but to make an assessment yet when we want to restore traffic in the area, we're not able to make that judgment yet."
For now, traffic will continue to move into a single lane in each direction between Exit 11 and Exit 10 in Harmar Township.
In the meantime, Cessna says crews will continue to loosen rocks on the hillside; and they may need to bring in heavy equipment to remove some of the boulders.
(© MMVII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)