Washington Blvd. Flood Gate Sits Broken As Fight Rages Over Repair Costs
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Nearly five years to the day after deadly flash flooding on Washington Boulevard, part of the system designed to prevent it from happening again, is broken.
The elaborate system cost around $400,000, and now there's a fight over who is going to pay for the repairs.
Four people were killed when flood waters rose quickly on Washington Boulevard in August of 2011, trapping a mom and her two children, and another woman inside their cars.
Nearly two years later, an elaborate flood-gate system was installed, designed to alert drivers that rising waters are imminent. PennDOT paid more than $400,000 to have the system installed.
But, now, pieces of a gate, which is designed to stop drivers from entering into a dangerous situation, lie on the side of the road.
A spokesperson for the city acknowledged the gate was knocked down by a car and has not been repaired.
PennDOT installed the gate, but says it's not responsible for maintaining it.
The city says the gates are still run by the state.
So the broken gate now just sits.
When asked what's next, the city responded:
"The city does intend to take them over eventually, but beforehand is going to contract with the firm that built the gates to study their operability and fix any outstanding problems."
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A lot of the businesses on Washington Boulevard say they know firsthand what kind of problems flooding creates. They say they're concerned about the broken gate. None wanted to appear on camera, but say they are frustrated by the lack of response.
The city says since the gate went down, police have blocked the intersection during rain events with their cars and with sawhorses.
But right now, there is no timeline to replace a gate that was designed to prevent tragedies like this one.
