ELCO – Ron Clark cannot predict how long Elco Hill will be closed. But the section of Route 88 in Elco won’t reopen until state officials have completed a project to sufficiently stabilize the hillside to prevent future slides, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation District 12 maintenance service engineer said. Given the scope of such a project, it appears likely that Elco Hill will be closed for weeks or even months rather than days. A second landslide within a week and continued rains have changed the state’s focus. Instead of opening the road after rocks, trees and other debris are removed from Route 88, PennDOT plans to leave Elco Hill closed until a permanent solution can found. A week ago, after a weekend slide sent about 500 tons of rocks, trees and other debris down the hill and across both lanes, PennDOT officials set a goal of reopening the roadway for the Easter weekend. But rains slowed down the cleanup project and raised questions about stability on the hillside. Those concerns proved to be valid after another landslide occurred Friday at the same location as the March 19 slide. Even before the latest slide, PennDOT officials had already called off plans to reopen Elco Hill on Friday. Engineering work needed to plan a project to fix the hillside will take two to three weeks. He could not estimate how long the project will take to complete, or at what cost. PennDOT has instituted emergency contracting procedures, which would allow the local office to award bids sooner. This is the first time that landslides have been a concern along Elco Hill. The most recent slides occurred just north, or lower on the hill, from the location of a slide shut down Elco Hill last year. Prior to the most recent problems, Elco Hill had been limited to one lane as crews made improvements necessitated by a prior slide. PennDOT has been criticized by some residents for failing to erect new fencing to protect vehicles from rocks falling down Elco Hill. Slides have damaged the original fence. Clark said a contract for new fence was awarded last fall, but only approved a week ago. In the interim, PennDOT removed rocks that fell behind the damaged fence, erected a barrier in the middle of the road and installed a traffic signal on Elco Hill to regulate one-lane traffic. “We made that passable in a way we thought was safe,” Clark said. A long-term shutdown could cause traffic concerns for residents and officials to plan school bus routes. Elco Hill is a main route for school buses traveling to California area schools and for motorists who want to access the Mon/Fayette Expressway without traveling to Interstate 70. Transit service also was affected.

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