Emergency repairs to Route 130 are nearly done, meaning the busy road closed by hillside subsidence at the Trafford-Penn Township line since Dec. 16 could be reopened in about two weeks.

That, of course, is provided rain or snow doesn't prevent the contractor from finishing work, which includes paving the damaged 300-foot-long stretch with hot asphalt.

Closing Route 130 at the Trafford border has effectively cut off the connection between Murrysville Road and Mosside Boulevard, affecting an average of 9,000 daily users.

Some drivers have been sent on an inconvenient, 8-mile detour via Route 993 toward Harrison City. The Penn-Trafford School District has had to reroute some school buses.

What may appear to have been a relatively small problem has been a challenge, said PennDOT District 12 spokeswoman Valerie Petersen.

"We tried to work with the developer to get this done, but the clock was ticking," she said. "Then we decided it was time for us to get in there, make the repairs and reopen Route 130 as soon as possible."

The developer is ATT Development Corp. and affiliate Makenzie Land Partners LP, both of 144 Dexter Drive, Monroeville. They are builders of "elegantly appointed" single-family Ryan homes in Level Green, a "lovely, wooded community ... just minutes from Monroeville's shopping and dining," according to ATT promotional materials.

But the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation said excavation by the developer of a new housing plan, known as Bradford Square at the toe of a hillside on which Route 130 sits, caused a section of earth to shift and subside.

The first incident Sept. 6 closed the two-lane road for two weeks. The developer buttressed the earth and restored the road surface.

The second incident occurred Dec. 16, when wider cracks appeared and the road surface dropped up to 2 feet. This time, ATT Development and Makenzie refused to accept blame. Route 130 has been closed since.

As a result, PennDOT awarded a $988,000 contract to Gregori Construction and Engineering, of Sarver, for earth work and paving.

"We're going to try to work with the developer to recover money," Ms. Petersen said, suggesting PennDOT does not consider itself responsible for paying to fix a problem not of its doing.

Ron Clark, PennDOT District 11 assistant executive for maintenance, said the developer signed releases giving PennDOT access to its property in order to make permanent repairs.

The contractor excavated about 30 feet deep into the slope and stabilized it with rocks as large as bushel baskets. New drainage was placed along the road. The firm is currently using recycled asphalt as fill to restore the road to its original grade.

Route 130 will be paved initially with a "base course" of asphalt and left that way until summer, when it will be covered with a "finish course" of asphalt.

"We anticipate some minor incremental movement of the embankment from settlement and traffic between now and then," Mr. Clark said. "The paving this summer will leave us with a good, smooth road surface."