Icy mess, crashes caused by water main break on busy Pittsburgh road

PITTSBURGH — A busy roadway is back open after a water main break created icy conditions and caused multiple car crashes during the morning rush hour on Wednesday.

Vehicles were piled up on Banksville Road around 8 a.m., after a 6-inch water main broke on nearby Canton Avenue. Canton is a side street off of Coast Avenue, a steep street in Beechview that intersects with Banksville Road.

According to public safety officials, five separate accidents were reported involving nine vehicles. No one was taken to the hospital.

“I was coming down Coast and there was a major water main break and I slid into the guard rail,” said Lisa Rivers. “Once I got down here there were several cars piled up.”

Several tow trucks arrived on scene as police officers blocked off area roadways. City and PennDOT crews salted the roadways and traffic was moving again by 10 a.m.

Pennsylvania-American Water crews turned the water off, impacting fewer than 10 customers, according to a spokesperson, who anticipated service would be restored by about noon.

RAW: Icy mess, crashes caused by water main break on Banksville Road in Pittsburgh

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