Cleanup Continues In Banksville After Flooding
BANKSVILLE (KDKA) – Crews have been working hard to clean up the mess left behind by Wednesday's storms.
Roughly 24 hours after some of the worst flash flooding in years in the South Hills, things were dry along Banksville Road thanks to a Herculean PennDOT effort.
"A lot of the debris that washed out we put it back in," Angelo Pampena of PennDOT said.
KDKA's Ross Guidotti reports from Banksville:
Running along Banksville Road is a drainage pipe about 12 feet in diameter. It collapsed under the stress of exceptional rain and backed up. As a result, several cars were caught in the high water.
However, the cleanup was much quicker than a long-term remedy.
"It's a huge concern for us right now. So, what we're doing is we're trying to keep that channel open and hope that it doesn't fall in. And we're going to monitor it," Pampena said.
Over the hill, but not far away, some of the worst flooding occurred near the intersection of Route 88 and McNeilly Road.
Even today, large debris remains jammed under a bridge. A used car dealership at the corner shows how the force of the water washed out soil underneath some of the cars. Sticks, twigs and mud gathered under some of the cars as well.
Across the street, the muffler shop got soaked.
Mariani and Richards are a water proofing firm, but they too are feeling the effects of Wednesday's flooding.
"It's all sludge everywhere we got to throw a lot stuff away again. It's all we can do," Wade Saville said.
This, as the phone rings off the hook for people looking for help.
"We're swamped with calls, which is good in some ways and bad for other people," Saville said.
Cleanup on some of the back roads could take days or even weeks to complete.
KDKA's John Shumway reports from Bridgeville:
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