Transportation along river halted during flood
The effects of the Election Day Flood were felt throughout the region. Transportation along the river stopped. Portions of highways near the Mon were submerged, including Routes 119, 166, 88, 201, 481, 906, 837 and 136. The Inter-County Bridge in Brownsville closed.
Chessie Systems closed its tracks from Point Marion to Connellsville. Runaway barges crashed into bridges at Masontown and Brownsville. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers maintains a report on its website that notes 18 barges were trapped at Maxwell Lock and Dam.
“We couldn’t control the upper pool – the water between the lock and the upper river,” said Dillon, who noted the loss of water affected local businesses and schools. “The barges were the problem. They went into the dam and hit the gates, which controlled the flow of water. The barges came down and hit the gates and sank.”
Harry Albert, who was then doing public relations work for the state Department of Transportation, remembered the barge that hit the Inter-County Bridge.
“I was standing on the pier below the deck, watching a PennDOT employee swinging on a rope to take pictures,” he said, explaining officials were checking the bridge for damage. “It was amazing. My stomach was turning. These guys are fearless. He had a rope on his belt, clipped onto both sides. He would swing out and grab hold of a beam with his hand so he could get a better photograph. It was just amazing.”
The Corps also noted on its website that Lake Lynn dam acted as a trap for debris that could have caused more damage further down the river.
“There was so much debris. I especially remember blue plastic barrels that floated from people’s boat docks,” said Albert. “It was amazing the amount of debris that was backing up in a couple of hours.”
Albert said PennDOT crews worked around the clock, operating on two 12-hour shifts a day to offer 24-hour coverage. He said the cleanup took months because roads were washed out and had to be rebuilt.
“I don’t mean they were underwater. The pavement was gone. The dirt was washed away,” Albert said.