Campbells Run Road hit with flooding for 2nd time in less than a week
Intense storms returned and created more problems in portions of the Pittsburgh area on Tuesday.
One road in Allegheny County took another hit due to flooding, the second time in less than a week.
Storms with downpours are becoming an unwelcome sight for many, especially in Robinson Township, where heavy rain caused some flooding on Campbells Run Road yet again.
The road is clear now, but earlier on Tuesday, crews were forced to shut it down near Interstate 79 for more than two hours, specifically between Keiners Lane and Baldwin Road.
"Our crews were out there at 10:45 a.m., and they opened road at 1 p.m. So, some of the inlets were clogged, and we did have water on the roadway that we had to shut down until the water receded," said Steven Shanley, Allegheny County Department of Public Works director.
Shanley said Tuesday wasn't as bad as last Thursday, when flash flooding impacted businesses and drivers, and also damaged fresh paving on Campbells Run Road.
He said crews worked diligently Thursday night into Friday morning to clear the road, make repairs and get it open. Now they're hoping for a decent break from all the rain.
"So, right now, we have the road milled. And we will be moving forward with paving it, hopefully when the weather breaks," Shanley said.
So, what's causing flooding in this area? Shanley said the storms have been very strong, with a lot of rain in a short amount of time.
"The intensity of these storms, along with the saturated ground, the water has nowhere to go," Shanley said. "So, that creates backups."
The hope is to find ways to prevent more issues on this critical road.
"These storms were intense, but we will investigate this area, see if anything we see as a contributing factor to it, and work with local municipalities for input from them and see what we can do, if anything, to improve this situation," said Shanley.
Although Campbells Run Road had to shut down on Tuesday, businesses KDKA spoke with were just fine this time around. And that's good news for Cheryl Franks, who's still dealing with serious damage at her shop, ServiceMaster Supreme, from the flooding last week. She's still running fans to dry out equipment they're hoping to salvage.
"This is some stuff we were able to save, I believe," Franks said. "All of this stuff has been damaged in the flood, and like I said earlier, though, you can see how high the water was up to. The water was up to here."
Franks said that flooding came from the swollen creek behind the store, which didn't have anywhere to go after nearby storm drains got blocked.
She said she's thankful the flooding wasn't as bad as several years ago, when the water in the basement was about four times deeper.
