2 years ago: Bus falls into Downtown Pittsburgh sinkhole

Editor’s note: Here is the Tribune-Review’s original report from Oct. 28, 2019:

The giant hole in 10th Street between Penn and Liberty in Downtown Pittsburgh doesn’t have a bus in it any more.

Crews were able to use a crane to remove the bus shortly after 9:30 p.m., according to Pittsburgh police.

Tenth Street will remain closed for weeks, though, while the massive sinkhole that swallowed half of the Port Authority bus Monday morning is repaired.

A 300-ton crane was brought in from Allegheny Crane to remove the bus.

It arrived shortly after 4 p.m. and required three to four hours to build, according to Public Safety Director Wendell Hissrich. It took more than an hour for the crane to swing into the proper position.

Busy day on Tenth Street in @DowntownPitt today.

Thanks to our @PghPublicSafety Bureaus, @pgh2o, @PGHtransit, @PGHTransitPD, & many other partners for your efforts today.

Thanks to the public for your patience. Please stay clear of the area for the foreseeable future. pic.twitter.com/W13QOQNh4r

— City of Pittsburgh (@CityPGH) October 29, 2019

The hole is between 75 and 100 feet long and around 20 feet deep.

The 14-ton bus, with its rear end in the hold, was resting on three power lines, two of which are 22,000 volts. The lines had to be de-energized before any work could begin.

Other cables below ground were cause for concern as well.

“We’re talking Comcast and Verizon fiber optic cables,” said Hissrich said.

If the cables had been disconnected or severely damaged during the lift, it could have meant communication problems across the tri-state area, Hissrich said.

Now that the bus is removed, the hole will be back-filled for safety before utility companies can dig back in to assess any damage to their respective lines.

Pittsburgh Police Cmdr. Ed Trapp said the city’s public safety department worked with the Westin Hotel to make life as easy as possible for the 400 football fans expected to arrive for Monday night’s Steelers-Dolphins game. He reiterated that Tenth Street will be closed for quite some time.

“It could be a good while depending on what happens when we lift the bus,” he said. “We have concerns about some of the street slabs falling into the hole, so that could alter how long this project takes.”

The incident happened shortly before 8 a.m. while the bus was waiting to cross Penn Avenue, according to a Port Authority spokesman. The road also gave way under the front tires of a blue Kia that was behind the bus, though the car did not fall into the sinkhole.

The driver of the Kia, the driver of the bus and the sole bus passenger were uninjured, “however they were somewhat shaken from the incident,” Hissrich said.

Another 3-4 hours for the crane to be set up, then more time for it to swing around. @PghPublicSafety Director Wendell Hissrich said that if the power lines under the bus are damaged, it could affect power to the tri-State area. pic.twitter.com/wnHbLf3JTY

— Megan Guza (@meganguzaTrib) October 28, 2019

The following routes will skip bus stops in Downtown while the sinkhole is under repair. Passengers are advised to use the next available stop location:

• The 91 Butler Street will not stop at Penn Avenue and 11th Street, Penn Avenue and Garrison Place, and Penn Avenue and 9th Street.

• The 86 Liberty, 88 Penn, and 87 Friendship lines will miss stops at Penn Avenue and Garrison Place, Penn Avenue and 9th Street.

• The 29 Robinson, 31 Bridgeville, and G31 Bridgeville flyer will miss stops at Penn Avenue and Garrison Place and Penn Avenue and 9th Street.