Flooding was reported throughout Western Pennsylvania and northern West Virginia today following rains that set records yesterday and continued steadily into the afternoon.
The Point at Pittsburgh was flooded, and the Mon Parking Wharf, 10th Street Bypass and Parkway Central -- the low-lying area between Grant and Stanwix streets -- were closed. That also curtailed traffic from the Fort Duquesne Bridge onto the Parkway East.
Loose barges forced the closing of the Interstate 70 bridge and the Wheeling Island Bridge in Wheeling, W.Va.
A mudslide that closed a lane of the Parkway East inbound on the suburban side of the Squirrel Hill Tunnel was cleared early today, but traffic was still snarled by the highway's closing near Downtown.
A slide damaged a house in Pittsburgh's Hays section and one in Penn Hills. River Avenue on the North Side was closed in places between the 16th Street and 31st Street bridges. Route 28 is down to one lane inbound between the 31st and 40th Street bridges because of a slide. And Carson Street was closed between Streets Run and Glass Run.
Late this morning, Route 837 was closed between Duquesne and Clairton, Dravosburg police reported.
And a slide closed Allegheny River Boulevard in Pittsburgh in an area that had been closed by the Hurricane Ivan floods in September. The eastbound lane is closed between Washington Boulevard and Verona.
Late this afternoon, a landslide was causing havoc on Route 65 near Interstate 79 at the Glenfield Viaduct. Kilbuck police were trying to stop I-79 traffic from exiting onto 65, and they closed 65 northbound until PennDOT could assess the situation.
Karen Auer, spokeswoman for the Army Corps of Engineers, said the agency has spent the day working with the Coast Guard and several barge companies to recover more than a dozen barges that broke loose during the day in the region. None is believed to have caused any serious damage.
Because of high water, the corps has closed all of the region's locks on the Ohio River from Pittsburgh to Hannibal, W.Va., near New Martinsburg, downstream from Wheeling. On the Monongahela, locks three and four were closed, and on the Allegheny, locks four through eight were closed.
The locks will be brought back into service as waters recede, she said. If a lock has been covered with water, workers usually have several hours of cleanup work before it can be reopened.
As far as barges are concerned, two barges are resting on a railroad bridge across the Ohio at Neville Island. They broke loose from Ingram Barge Co. and struck the bridge, which is upstream from the Emsworth lock and dam.
The bridge is owned by CSX Railroad. CSX spokeswoman Jane Covington said the railroad tracks that cross the bridge were knocked out of alignment by the barges. The tracks serve four local businesses and carry one train each day.
Covington said the tracks are expected to be out of service for several weeks for repairs. The railroad also will have structural engineers check the bridge for damage.
The railroad also is holding traffic on its main line due to flooding at the old Jones & Laughlin tunnel on the South Side. Once flood waters recede, the railroad will inspect the tracks before it reopens that area.
Corps and Coast Guard workers are working to secure the barges so they don't break loose again, Auer said.
Near Hannibal, the corps is working to corral eight barges that lodged against the Pike Island lock and dam. The barges, which are owned by four different companies, don't appear to have damaged the lock and dam, Auer said.
Earlier, four other barges went over the Pike Island dam and were captured without incident near Hannibal. They also caused no damage.
Water across roadways led to detours and delays and some 27 school districts announced cancellations or delays.
Due to the flooding of several secondary roads in Evans City and Jackson Township, the Seneca Valley School District ordered an early dismissal late this morning, a district spokeswoman said.
High school and middle school students in the Butler County district were sent home at 10:49 a.m. The elementaries followed shortly afterward.
This afternoon, the National Weather Service in Pittsburgh issued or reissued flood warnings for much of the area.
The Ohio River at the Point reached 26.7 feet at 8 a.m. Flood stage is 25 feet. It was expected to crest at 28.2 feet this evening and fall below flood stage late tomorrow.
Along the Ohio, minor flooding was forecast for Dashields and Montgomery, moderate flooding at Wellsville, Ohio; and major flooding near New Cumberland and Wheeling, W.Va. The river was expected to rise above the 36-foot flood stage at Wheeling this morning and was expected to crest at 44.1 feet tomorrow morning. At 42.7 feet, Wheeling Island floods, the weather service said.
All three major bridges in Wheeling, the Fort Henry on I-70, the U.S. 40 and the bridge to Wheeling Island -- are closed because of the runaway barges on the Ohio River, West Virginia State Police said.
A spokeswoman said the U.S. 40 bridge is being opened and closed in cycles as barges pass underneath it. Asked if any barges had hit the bridges, she said, "Not so far as I know."
The closings mean people headed to Wheeling from the Pittsburgh area must exit I-70 or I-470 before they get to the bridges and make their way into town via other streets.
The same applies to those approaching Wheeling from the Ohio side of the border.
This morning, the weather service issued a warning for the Youghiogheny River in Sutersville, Westmoreland County. Minor flooding was predicted as the river was to rise a half-foot above flood stage this afternoon. The high water was also expected in the West Newton business district.
In Allegheny County, flooding closed a lane of Route 8 near Wildwood Road in Hampton; Route 48 in White Oak at Center Street; Glassport-Elizabeth Road; Lime Hollow Road between Frankstown Road and Sandy Creek Road in Penn Hills; and several others. Lime Hollow has since been reopened.
Affected Beaver County roads included Route 68 in Midland and Route 588 in North Sewickley. An earthen dam holding back an overflow pond failed this morning in Franklin Township, flooding Bessor Road. The nearby Connoquenessing Creek, which floods frequently in that area, did it again today, soaking camp trailers and vacation cabins.
Emergency crews throughout Westmoreland were closing roads, pumping out basements and shoveling away hillside slides.
Northbound lanes of Route 119 north in Hempfield, between Youngwood and Greensburg, closed at 7 a.m. when Jack's Run rose out of its banks.
In Ligonier Township, crews were called at about 9:45 a.m. to clear eastbound Route 30 at Long Bridge, an area where landslides are a frequent problem.
County Public Safety Coordinator Dan Stevens said scattered residential flooding was reported in Latrobe, Lower Burrell, and Sewickley Township, but no serious harm was reported.
"Every single creek and waterway we have is over its banks right now," he said.
Minor flooding is occurring near Charleroi and Elizabeth on the Monongahela River, where waters were expected to crest at or slightly above flood stage and then recede this afternoon.
In Greene, Washington and Westmoreland counties, dozens of smaller state roads were closed because of high water, according to Valerie Petersen of PennDOT. Route 231 in Buffalo and Route 2023 in Fallowfield, both in Washington County, may be closed for an extended time because of mudslides.
This afternoon, Route 18 was closed north of Waterdam Road in Franklin Township, Greene County.
Similar reports were coming in for PennDOT roads in Butler, Armstrong and Indiana counties. Two of the bigger roads affected were Route 66 south of Ford City, Armstrong County, and Route 38 in Summit, Butler County.
One road in Butler County, Dick Road in Connoquenessing Township, was washed out and will remain closed for several months, PennDOT said. The road was undermined during previous flooding.
By 3 p.m., as many as 10 roads remained closed throughout Butler County and emergency workers had responded to several dozen flooded basements, said Robert Young, Butler County's deputy director of emergeny services.
There were no flood-related injuries or accidents reported, Young said.
Some of the Washington County towns hit by the September flood were under water again today.
Heavy rains had closed 22 roads countywide, public safety director Jeff Yates said.
In Houston, one of the towns most heavily damaged in September, one family was evacuated from its home in a boat. Other families left to avoid being trapped, Yates said.
Burgettstown, Cecil and McDonald also were hit hard, Yates said. There were no reports of injuries, but Yates said as many as 70 basements were flooded countywide. Canon-McMillan and Chartiers-Houston School Districts, St. Patrick School in Canonsburg and Central Christian Academy in Chartiers canceled classes.
In Fayette County, five roads and 32 basements were affected by flooding, a spokesman said.
Heavy rains closed Albany Tunnel and Jackson Street in Brownsville Borough, Route 201 in Fayette City, Water Street in Belle Vernon and Hopwood Fairchance Road in South Union, said Scott Dolan, Fayette County Emergency Management planner and trainer. The wharf in Brownsville also was closed.
The National Weather Service reported 1.81 inches of rain fell at Pittsburgh International Airport yesterday, breaking the Jan. 5, 1946, record of 0.85 inches. Another 0.6 inches fell this morning and early afternoon at the airport before tapering off later in the day. Some other areas got more today; Allegheny County Airport reported about 0.75 inches through early this afternoon.
As the rain decreased, road crews were turning their attention to the dropping temperatures.
Tonight's low was supposed to hit 28, prompting concerns about ice.
PennDOT said it could not pre-treat the roads because the liquid chemical solutions would be diluted and ineffective. Highway officials urged drivers to slow down on wet roads that could turn slippery tonight.
In Pittsburgh's Hays section, a house on Mifflin Road will apparently have to be destroyed after a hillside above failed. The falling dirt put a hole in the back of the house around 5:45 a.m.
Shirley and Michelle Bilski, who live next door to that house in the 500 block of Mifflin, said their neighbor woke them up to warn them their house could also be affected.
Shirley Bilski, who is Michelle's mother, said she was trying to determine whether she should leave. She said a city building inspector told her the adjoining house could collapse into itself or could be pushed into her house.
"I'm just so upset," Bilski said. The inspector "said, 'I'm in fear for your life right now,' " Bilski said.
A Penn Hills family was forced from its Springwood Drive home when a rain-soaked hillside slid into the structure, knocking it from its foundation overnight.
Jack Mason, Penn Hills' Emergency Management Coordinator, said the landslide caused structural damage to the house where Dennis Colaizzi, his wife and two boys lived. They probably won't be able to return, he said.
The Allegheny River Boulevard and Lime Hollow problems were not considered as bad as those during the Sept. 17 floods, Mason said.
More details in tomorrow's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
First Published: January 6, 2005, 5:00 a.m.
