HEMPFIELD TOWNSHIP, Pa. -- Route 30 has reopened following a landslide in Hempfield Township, Westmoreland County, on Sunday.

The eastbound lanes of the roadway were closed near North Greengate Road and Mount Odin Drive after a huge chunk of land slid down a hillside from Tollgate Hill Road.

The landslide uprooted trees, knocked over utility poles and brought down wires along the way.

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation said it isn't sure what caused the slide, but engineers are working to figure out a fix.

PennDOT said it is trying to figure out if pounding rain and moving earth put pressure on a water main that finally broke and carried the hillside down onto Route 30 or if the water main broke first.

"Slides aren't uncommon, especially when you have saturated soils, but we're not for sure what caused the slide yet," said Liberty Hill of PennDOT. "We have our geo tech people here now. They're looking at what the cause is and start to determine how to fix it."

There are several homes and businesses along Tollgate Hill Road, including Mount Odin Golf Course and the Westmoreland Chamber of Commerce. They all lost utilities for several hours on Sunday, so officials from the gas and power companies set up temporary lines.

Tollgate Hill Road is considered to be very dangerous, which is why it still remains closed.

PennDOT said most of the work it will take to fix the landslide can be done from above, but it's likely at least one lane of Route 30 eastbound will be closed at times while crews rebuild the hillside.

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