Route 66 in Leechburg, Gilpin closed until July after another landslide

For the second time this week, a landslide along Route 66 in Gilpin has closed the road and it is expected to remain closed until July 1, according to PennDOT.

Route 66 will be closed in both directions between Main Street in Leechburg and Airport Road in Gilpin as the result of a Thursday night landslide, according to the transportation agency.

A section of another nearby road, Lover’s Leap, also will be closed because a part of that road collapsed, according to Gilpin Police.

The same stretch of Route 66 was closed to traffic at about 7 p.m. Tuesday after mud, rock and trees slid onto the roadway. It reopened Wednesday afternoon.

The several-mile stretch of road, lined with a steep hillside, has been prone to landslides for years because of loose topsoil that slides when waterlogged and brings down mud and trees, according to Luke Crawford, PennDOT’s assistant highway maintenance manager in Armstrong County.

“The excessive amount of rain this week has overwhelmed the topsoil in several different places,” he said.

Although there are concrete barriers between the hillside and the road to catch some of the soil and mud, fallen trees spill out into the road.

An estimated 50 tons of mud, roots and trees, some with 20-inch diameters, slid onto Route 66 on Thursday evening, according to Crawford.

Although the roadway is undergoing a cleanup, PennDOT officials would like the hillside to dry out before reopening the road.

“For the safety of traveling public, we will keep the road closed over the weekend because there’s still loose dirt and trees there,” Crawford said.

A long-term fix has been elusive for the area as the slide area is several miles long, according to Crawford.

However, with the recent event, a PennDOT geotechnical crew from Indiana County will assess the site and make recommendations for a long-term fix.