Utility Pole Snaps, Creating Mess On Route 356 In Allegheny Township
ALLEGHENY TOWNSHIP, Pa. (KDKA) - A major mess near Leechburg is cleaned up after a utility pole snapped Tuesday morning, knocking out power, closing businesses and creating a traffic headache.
Hundreds found themselves in the dark around 9 a.m. when the pole snapped close to its base. The cause was not an out-of-control car. Instead, it was more than likely age, tension, and mother nature.
It was quite a sight: a utility pole snapped, tilted over Route 356 in Allegheny Township. The weight of the fractured timber was pulling on high tension wires, causing others nearby to tilt as well, leading to a blackout for about 500 customers.
"They said it would only be out a half an hour. I was waiting, then the doctor came in and said, 'get ready, go back home, we'll call you in a couple of days, and make another appointment,'" said Lenny Pfeifer from Leechburg.
The snapped pole and downed lines put an end to Pfeifer's trip to the dentist. Other places let customers know via front door signs. No power means no business.
West Penn Power is in the process of transferring the wires from the broken pole to the new pole. What's interesting about all this is how that pole ended up broken.
But not in this case. While West Penn Power hasn't yet said what snapped the pole, Alden Systems, a firm that deals with power and energy risk analysis, says utility poles can snap from natural decay, weather damage, insects, line tension, overloading and illegal attachments. And they say it's not all that uncommon.
Power is now back on to nearly all of those who lost it. Meanwhile, Allegheny Township Police are helping West Penn Power try to pinpoint exactly what caused that pole to snap.
