Massive sinkhole to keep central Washington D.C. streets closed for another week‏

A large sinkhole opened on 14th Street, D.C. last week. The sinkhole in downtown Washington will continue to block lanes and impede traffic until the end of the work week, officials said Tuesday.

Authorities shut down parts of 14th and F streets in Northwest Washington last week after a pit opened at the intersection, which is blocks from the White House and in an area full of restaurants and hotels. The work is taking so long because workers digging down to the sewer line have to navigate a complex thicket of utility lines and old trolley tracks, according to George S. Hawkins, general manager of the D.C. Water and Sewer Authority. "It's been the most complicated street repair I've seen since I've been on the job," Hawkins said at a news conference in front of the sinkhole.

Work at the pit could cost nearly $2 million, Hawkins said. All of the work should be completed and the roads reopened by Friday, said Paul A. Quander Jr., the deputy mayor for public safety. "A lot of progress has been made," Quander said. "We've been working around the clock to fix this." Northbound 14th Street remains blocked between Pennsylvania and New York avenues, while F Street is closed between 13th and 15th streets. Only southbound traffic can pass through the intersection.

If the roads do reopen Friday, the intersection will have been at least partially blocked for 10 days spanning two work weeks and a holiday weekend. Traffic was severely affected in the blocks around the closure, with cars and buses being diverted from a key artery in and out of the city.

While the cause of the sinkhole is still being investigated, Hawkins said it appears that the hole developed because a nearby manhole was blocking a storm drain. The storm drain at the northwest corner of the intersection, in front of the Hamilton restaurant, is meant to funnel storm water into the sewer system. But a manhole was constructed that blocked the drain. As a result, water had nowhere to go and seeped into the dirt under the street.

"That's our best hypothesis," Hawkins said.

Source

Wow, so sinkholes are still opening up everywhere, but this one seems to be causing a big problem for traffic & it sound like it's going to cost a lot of money to repair. I'm just glad nobody was injured.

The kind of dough that gets wasted repairing stupid and slovenly mistake like blocking a water flow of a storm drain and expecting it will be alright" galls me.
The expectations of the education system are too lax, and the adults they seem to produce excell at mediocrity.
What is it in a person that allows them to create this kind of situation in the first place...?
Its a strange malaise that is getting worse imo.
Cities all over are finding out their highly paid planners have their heads up their rears more often than they admit ....Seattle bridge collapse recently.....
Its bad enough our infrastructure is crumbling...wasted efforts just drag us further down.....

The kind of dough that gets wasted repairing stupid and slovenly mistake like blocking a water flow of a storm drain and expecting it will be alright" galls me.
The expectations of the education system are too lax, and the adults they seem to produce excell at mediocrity.
What is it in a person that allows them to cretae this kind of situation in the first place...?
Its a strange malaise that is getting worse imo.
Cities all over are finding out their highly paid planners have their heads up their rears more often than they admit ....Seattle bridge collapse recently.....
Its bad enough our infrastructure is crumbling...wasted efforts just drag us further down.....

I'm really starting to wonder about that 'expanding planet' stuff...

On the other hand, maybe it's a sign! Not many people would miss D.C. if it suddenly sank to Hades. Just can we please salvage the contents of the Smithsonian first?

Fracking is going to take it's toll...

If that is a picture of the sinkhole it is hardly massive.

Was kind of hoping it would take the whole town.

Wouldn't want anybody gaining access to them there tunnels now would we?

I'm pretty sure DC was built on some swampy land that was drained.
It was donated by a Catholic family in Maryland ... the Carrolls I think.
Drained swampland isn't exactly the most sturdy foundation to begin with ... I'd imagine.

Originally posted by FlyersFan
I'm pretty sure DC was built on some swampy land that was drained.
It was donated by a Catholic family in Maryland ... the Carrolls I think.
Drained swampland isn't exactly the most sturdy foundation to begin with ... I'd imagine.

I was going to say this exactly...drained swamp which has subsided significantly over the last 150 years can't be the most stable surface.

Add to that an outdated and poorly maintained infrastructure, a burst water main can swallow an entire street.

But that slow creeping destruction may just be the point.

Sinkhole.....Washington DC.....Same thing.

Originally posted by rickymouse
Sinkhole.....Washington DC.....Same thing.

Yep. Maybe even a Sh*thole, Just let me know when it swallows the Senate.. I have some old whiskey to celebrate with!

Originally posted by setibuddies

Originally posted by rickymouse
Sinkhole.....Washington DC.....Same thing.

Yep. Maybe even a Sh*thole,

Just let me know when it swallows the Senate.. I have some old whiskey to celebrate with!

Yep. Would toast to that. Perhaps some serious regular/bull Sh*t going through the sewage to create such sinkholes in DC