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Mt. Washington landslide causes closures, concerns

PITTSBURGH — A landslide "as wide as a football field" shut down the Duquesne Incline Tuesday morning and forced the Le Mont restaurant to evacuate and close.
 
Officials said the slide happened around 2 a.m. when a Norfolk Southern train hit a tree that had fallen on the tracks.
 
Tuesday evening, engineers continued to inspect the landslide, and the city's Bureau of Building Inspection closed the Le Mont Restaurant as a precautionary measure.
 
While the slide caused no damage to the building or its foundation, the ground at the site of the slide continues to show signs of movement. Engineers will determine Wednesday if the restaurant can reopen on Thursday.
 
"It's a pretty popular restaurant in the city, and just like any other business, we want to get them reopened as soon as we can," said Pittsburgh Public Safety Director Mike Huss.
 
Nearby restaurant owners have concerns.
 
"Every spring, we're losing more of the ground down there.  The ground has been shifting," said Rosetta Eichert.
 
Eichert and her family have owned Bella Vista for nearly 11 years.
 
"Now that this happened, we're really worried," she said.
 
City officials called the slide the "biggest ever on Mt. Washington."
 
"We have a significant rock slide event at the base of Mt. Washington," Mayor Bill Peduto's Chief of Staff Kevin Acklin said.