PITTSBURGH — A massive crater stretching across Brereton Street after a landslide is now creating a new threat for homeowners in Polish Hill.
Becky Corrigan’s neighbor was forced to leave his house after the road gave way just inches from his front door.
>> Home in Polish Hill condemned, part of East Busway closed after water main break causes landslide
“It’s horrifying. My neighbor doesn’t have anywhere to live anymore,” Corrigan said. “It’s just, everybody’s worried. Everybody’s scared and we all saw it coming, too.”
Water from a water main break could be seen shooting several feet into the air. The break destroyed much of the road causing part of it to collapse early Friday morning.
“Once the sun came up, it was horrifying to see how huge that was,” Corrigan said.
Corrigan fears her home could be swallowed.
“I feel like we could be on the verge of collapse,” she said. “I don’t know.”
When the street started to crumble, it sent tons of mud, trees and chunks of pavement down the hillside onto the East Busway, forcing part of it to close.
Traveling between the Strip District and Oakland will take more time, something that will impact a lot of riders.
“For people who rely on that to get to class on time and travel long distances like that, especially commuter students, I think it would definitely inconvenience them,” said Tess Harper of Lawrenceville.
Neighbors on Brereton Street say water has been bubbling up through cracks in the road over the last year and claim the water authority has only been making temporary fixes that don’t address the underlying problem.
“I just wish something would’ve been done sooner because this is massive destruction,” Corrigan said.
Corrigan said she doesn’t even feel safe in her own home.
“It’s stressful being up here,” she said. “We don’t know how much damage is underneath the road. I don’t know if my house is going to be condemned. I just don’t know what the future holds.”
Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority’s Public Affairs Senior Manager Rebecca Zito sent a statement that read:
“The safety of our customers is our highest priority. In coordination with the City of Pittsburgh, PWSA has initiated an assessment to identify the factors that contributed to Friday’s landslide. That assessment is ongoing.”
A spokesperson for the PRT said engineers are monitoring the hillside and will conduct tests to make sure it’s not at risk for more landslides.
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