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Shaler Township Closes Crumbling Roadway

SHALER TOWNSHIP (KDKA) -- Large cracks in a crumbling, narrow roadway have forced Shaler Township officials to close a popular shortcut.

Fall Run Road is appropriately named because engineers say it is falling away, and that's why effective today, it'll be closed to commuters.

Fall Run Road's slow demise is obvious. A drive along this tight, one-lane, one-way street shows that the hill, the road and the 200-foot cliff are becoming one.

"The road is starting to deteriorate and fall into the park below and we're seeing some evidence that it's going to carry on through the whole width of the road," said Shaler Township engineer Kevin Creigh. "Eventually, one day, we're just going to wake up and the road's not going to be there."

The road has been a popular short cut for years, an easy way to get from Route 8 to Middle Road, but the risk now is simply too great.

"Well, since 2008 we made it a one-way road because it's a very narrow road with some blind bends on it; prior to that, we've had some close calls just because of its width," said Creigh.

But fixing it is an absolute. It isn't heavily traveled, maybe 300 cars a day, but it has its value.

"It has to be done. It's more of a need to have another access point up to the Burchfield area for emergency vehicles, police, fire and EMS," Creigh said. "We've priced it out to being approximately $350,000 to $375,000."

The best case scenario is to have the road shut over the winter and then get construction going sometime next spring with the hope that sometime next year Fall Run will be up and running.

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