City paying up months after massive sinkhole partially swallowed PAT bus in Downtown Pittsburgh

PITTSBURGH — Nearly three months after a Port Authority bus was partially swallowed by a sinkhole in Downtown Pittsburgh, the city is getting its first bills for the damage.

Pittsburgh City Council began consideration Tuesday on an $88,150 bill from Allegheny Crane Rental for the emergency removal of the bus on 10th Street in October. Council members are expected to approve the bill in the coming weeks, and they know this is just the beginning.

You can customize your WPXI News App to receive alerts for Allegheny County news. CLICK HERE to find out how.

City and PWSA officials say they have no estimate on what the final total will be.

RELATED STORIES:

• Pittsburgh street could be closed for months after bus is swallowed by sinkhole
• Crews make unexpected discovery during investigation into what caused downtown sinkhole
• Rain a big concern for sinkhole that swallowed PAT bus in Downtown Pittsburgh
• Bus in the sinkhole scene now a holiday ornament, cupcakes and more
• DOWNLOAD the Channel 11 News app for breaking news alerts

It took less than 24 hours to pull the bus out of the sinkhole, and costs continue to pile up as work remains at a standstill.

“We’re doing all of our best to fix it as expeditiously as possible, but there’s a lot of repair to be done,” said councilman Dan Lavelle.

The city is still waiting on repairs to an underground tunnel that provides steam to heat downtown businesses before they can continue to fix the street. That will take until early February, at which point the city will determine if 10th Street is ready for paving.

Repairs on sinkhole that swallowed bus stopped due to unexpected damage Repairs on sinkhole that swallowed bus stopped due to unexpected damage

© 2020 Cox Media Group