By David Hurst
The Tribune-Democrat
BERLIN, Pa. – Pennsylvania Turnpike travel resumed Friday through the Allegheny Mountain Tunnel in the aftermath of a vehicle fire that forced an evacuation of the tunnel late Thursday.
The truck’s driver was flown from the scene – and conditions in the tunnel created challenges for the fire crews working to extinguish the blaze, Shanksville fire officials said.
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The tunnel’s pair of tubes were closed to traffic in both directions shortly after 9 p.m. Thursday due to the fire in the westbound tunnel. The eastbound tunnel reopened at about 3:20 a.m. Friday, with traffic in both directions being funneled through that tube until the westbound tunnel reopened shortly after 2:30 p.m.
The incident was reported to Somerset County 911 officials as an “explosion” involving a commercial vehicle.
A state police release to media indicated that the commercial vehicle’s driver suffered a medical emergency and was flown by medical helicopter for treatment.
Turnpike traffic was detoured away from the tunnel as far away as New Stanton.
State Police Cpl. Richard Levan said charter buses were dispatched to the accident scene to transport 150 stranded people to a safe location, a nearby Turnpike maintenance facility.
It wasn’t known Friday what caused the vehicle fire.
Shanksville Deputy fire Chief John Abramowich said firefighters discovered that a Ford F-450 and its trailer were “fully involved.” It was a challenge just to find it, he said.
‘We were lucky’
Shanksville has conducted “tabletop” exercises for years on how to respond to accidents inside the tunnels, Abramowich said. And there are 48-inch-wide “emergency” walkways at various points that enable people to cross over from one tunnel to the other when needed.
But between the thick haze of dark smoke inside the westbound tunnel and at least 60 abandoned vehicles left scattered inside during the fire, firefighters struggled to even find the truck’s location, he said.
Before long, enough smoke funneled into the adjacent eastbound tunnel, where crews were staging, that carbon monoxide levels – registering at 20 parts per million – posed a serious threat to pump-operating volunteers and equipment that relies on adequate oxygen levels, Abramowich said.
Firefighters were forced to briefly exit to focus efforts on ventilating the tunnel, he said.
Once that occurred, several firefighters advanced a hand line from the eastbound tunnel to the westbound tunnel and located the truck.
“We discovered both the truck and its trailer were fully involved,” he said.
Pennsylvania Turnpike crews assisted, setting up large ventilation fans to clear lingering smoke from the second travel tube, Abramowich said.
He said responders were fortunate that no one was injured during the response – and that motorists were able to flee the tunnel themselves before crews arrived.
“We were lucky,” he said. “God is good.”
Levan said motorists who had to abandon their cars in or near the tunnel were permitted to return to their vehicles at 2:45 a.m.
The commercial vehicle driver’s “medical emergency” was not related to the vehicle fire, Levan added.
While the structural integrity of the tunnel was not compromised by the incident, cleanup efforts were ongoing throughout Friday, including removal of damaged tiles and debris within 300 feet of the tunnel and repairs of damaged light fixtures, the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission wrote in a release to media.
“Once these repairs were complete and crews ensured safe travel through the area, the westbound tunnel was reopened,” Turnpike officials said.
Tunnels eyed for replacement in 2033
The Allegheny Mountain Tunnel, located northeast of Berlin and southeast of Shanksville in Somerset County, is slated to be bypassed for a new four-lane stretch of highway nearby in a projected 2033 project.
The move would cut new travel lanes from a 1,000-foot-wide stretch of ridgeline – a move some Somerset County officials, nearby landowners and environmental groups have been fighting to prevent.
The group, Citizens to Save Allegheny Mountain, has cited concerns about potential harm to water resources and wildlife, noting that the mountain is part of a north-south migration corridor – and arguing that rehabilitating the tunnel is the better choice.
Turnpike officials have defended their $300 million realignment plan.
Local proposals to renovate the tunnels “do not solve the safety and mobility issues in this area, have an exceedingly long-term construction timeline and could cause severe traffic backups of five to 11 miles for years in an area with already limited access,” Turnpike Commission press secretary Marissa Orbanek told The Tribune-Democrat last month.
‘There’s no real-life practice situation’
According to a 2021 Turnpike traffic audit, more than 5,500 vehicles enter or exit the nearby Somerset interchange per day, on average.
Abramowich said incidents in the tunnel fortunately aren’t common – and he said fire officials didn’t remember a previous working vehicle fire inside the Allegheny Mountain Tunnel over the past 15 years or more.
Based on conversations with the department’s prior chief, Thursday’s incident appears to be only the second vehicle fire in the Allegheny Mountain Tunnel in the past 45 years, he said.
But incidents such as this are ones that firefighters try to learn from. Emergency preparedness plans are continuously adapted, since first responders are well aware that sudden emergencies can happen.
He said live training exercises inside the tunnels would make that task easier – a task made difficult by the fact the tunnels are typically in operation 24/7.
“Until yesterday, we never had the opportunity to use hose lines in that tunnel,” Abramowich said, crediting firefighters and emergency responders for the job they did late Thursday. “You can plan and talk about it, but there’s no real-life practice situation for something like this.”
Shanksville was assisted by volunteers from Berlin, New Baltimore, Sipesville, Somerset Regional and Friedens, as well as Listie, Stoystown and Shawnee Valley, Bedford County, responders said. Berlin and Somerset ambulance units also responded, as well as an EMS crew from Bedford County, Abramowich said.
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