Hundreds of landslides around region unaffected by recent heavy rains

As areas of Western Pennsylvania were pounded with rain this week, including nearly 2 inches on Wednesday, PennDOT officials nervously kept an eye on the 270 documented landslides they are dealing with across Region 12 — which includes Westmoreland County.

“We haven’t had any additional ones, or movement on the current ones due to the rain,” said district spokeswoman Valerie Petersen. “It’s a blessing.”

May brought nearly 6 inches of rain to the region, according to the National Weather Service.

The most recent round brought significant flooding but didn’t appear to add to PennDOT’s landslide problem.

“I think with the storms recently, we’ve been dealing with more downed trees than anything else,” Petersen said.

District 12 encompasses Westmoreland, Greene, Washington and Fayette counties.

Five slides were repaired recently, and the district plans to repair 45 more over the next two construction seasons, Petersen said. Some of that work will be done by department work crews, and some will be contracted out.

In a typical year, PennDOT officials budget about $30 million for flooding and landslide damage.

In 2018, the agency spent $127 million fixing that damage, according to PennDOT Secretary Leslie Richards.

In late April, PennDOT spokeswoman Alexis Campbell estimated the cost to repair the remaining slides could exceed $100 million.