Philadelphia (CBS) – Ida is long gone, but the devastation she left behind remains. Work continued Friday morning in Center City, to drain water from the Vine Street Expressway.
Great progress was made on Friday when it came to flooding I-676. Crews have been working all night to pump water so the road can reopen, but the highway remains submerged and the road is completely closed heading west and closed between I-76 and Broad Street to the east.
Read more: Police: At least 12 shots fired in West Philadelphia shooting seriously injured 16-year-old
The water level on the Vine Street Highway has been slowly shrinking since Thursday evening. But at the height of the flooding Thursday morning, the water was under the overpass of 22nd Street.
Prepare to turn if your morning commute usually involves the Vine Street Expressway. This is what the road looks like this morning as crews continue to pump out floodwaters. We live downtown with more cleanup efforts. pic.twitter.com/4m0rcum8WV
– Jan Carabio (@JanCarabioCBS3) September 3, 2021
City officials say the flooding on the Vine Street Highway was largely due to the failure of a major pumping station.
Officials also say storm debris from trees may have clogged some drains.
It was a recipe for disaster because this was a historic flood.
Read more: It is expected that Gov. Wolf tours hurricane damage in Upper Dublin as cleanup is in progress
Meanwhile, in Manayunk, those lifelong residents did not see that the Schuylkill River overflowed its banks on such a large scale.
The Main Street business, which has never experienced flooding, has been affected. Dozens of cars were flooded.
The flood waters have largely receded in Manayak as of Friday morning. But the cleanup effort still has a long way to go.
Chris Myers, of Pizzeria L’Angolo, told Eyewitness News it could be tough to open this weekend.
Historic flooding on the Vine St Highway is still underway this morning. # Helicopter 3, Photography Tweet embed Live above the scene where all lanes remain closed EB from I-76 to Broad, and WB from I-95 to I-76. Crews continue to dry the road. Tweet embed Tweet embed pic.twitter.com/pUTZoHdEdU
– Jacqueline Jewell (@JJewelliHeart) September 3, 2021
“There are no guarantees that we will do the best we can,” Myers said. “We clean a lot of mud. Not catfish, but a lot of mud.”
Everything, it was all water,” said Brian Domrig, a business owner. “Everything is, like, destroyed.”
“We need help. We need help from the city to get out here,” said Gwen McCauley, of the Manayunk Business Association.
More news: Two people were injured in the Kensington building collapse
City center workers continue to work on reopening Vine Street, but area detours will be necessary, so try to find an alternate route on your morning commute.
.