PITTSBURGH — A water main break in Ross Township stalled traffic on McKnight Road Tuesday morning.
Officials said the water main break happened shortly after 11 a.m., sending water gushing down Braunlick Road and onto McKnight Road.
At least one southbound lane of McKnight Road and Braunlick Road are closed while crews continue to work to prevent water from gushing onto the road.
The closure has forced drivers, including those headed to Ross Park Mall for last minute Christmas shopping, to find another route.
“It’s a mess. It took me three times as long to get up here,” said Ross Township resident Rob Bauer.
Several businesses from Best Buy to Kuhn’s Market had no running water.
“It did have an impact on people asking if we had water,” said Sam Guido who works at Kuhn’s. “They had to scamper to make sure that we had water to clean the equipment and saws like that and cleaning the slices.”
Meanwhile, Applebee’s was forced to shut down completely.
Rick Owens and his family were disappointed to find the restaurant closed when they arrived from Shaler to eat lunch.
“We were trying to meet for lunch, and with the holiday traffic, it’s even worse because McKnight is always being altered. What can you do? Grin and bear it,” said Owens.
West View Water Authority took about an hour to shut off the water. Crews continue to work to repair a split pipe.
How the pipe broke remains unclear.
A West View Water Authority spokesperson said it would take hours for the repairs to be completed.
WPXI
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