Downed wires cause major delays on Pennsylvania Turnpike near Monroeville
Hanging wires snarled traffic for hours along the Pennsylvania Turnpike in Monroeville Wednesday.
Police say it started when a semi-truck hit wires along the Northern Pike overpass around 3 p.m.
The downed lines backed up traffic for miles. Officials say it was bumper to bumper for 7 miles in the eastbound lanes and 3 miles in the westbound lanes.
“Probably 20 to 30 minutes parked. I know I kept looking at my route. I lost at least 25-30 minutes on the trip just sitting there,” Dave McHugh said. He was traveling from Baltimore to Indiana for a basketball tournament.
The downed lines also led to a closure of the overpass itself. That’s where repair work was concentrated.
“It’s just holding me up to go see my sister. She’s right across from that fire hall,” Anna Parker said.
It took workers a couple of hours to secure those downed lines - some hung over the turnpike in bucket trucks to reel them in.
“That would be scary hanging over the turnpike,” Anna said.
Police tell us no one was hurt by the lines or in the initial incident.
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