Boro’s Plumbing had a city permit to do a water tap for a new business at on North Clark Street. But the company was cited for not having metal plates large enough to cover the excavation hole, failing to fasten those plates correctly and neglecting to use a masonry saw to make a clean cut of the pavement and remove it. When the metal plate shifted, chunks of pavement broke off into the trench.

According to Pat McDonough, a Water Management investigator assigned to the site, the contractor’s mistakes nearly caused a “major disaster.” A piece of the street fell onto a 12-inch gas main, but did not break the main, he said. A Chicago Police officer stopped a CTA bus “within 10 or 15 feet of the hole,” McDonough said.

Each of the citations carries a fine ranging from $200 to $500. City Hall is also demanding that Boro’s restore the street to the condition it was in prior to construction and compensate Chicago taxpayers for the formidable emergency response.