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Seattle Bridge Caves to Sinkhole05-14-07 | News

Seattle Bridge Caves to Sinkhole




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Road access to more than 50 houseboats was cut off recently when a Seattle water main caused a sinkhole to open up. This was the second Seattle water main break in a month. The bridge, on which about 31,400 cars travel each day, was closed as a precaution until the Seattle Department of Transportation could determine if its structural integrity was threatened. Two unoccupied cars that had been parked under the bridge on Portage Bay Place fell into the hole when the road was undermined by rushing water, Seattle Police spokesman Sean Whitcomb said. No injuries were reported.

Seattle is in the process of renovating all its old bridges, and transportation officials completed some patching work on the University Bridge this past spring. Concrete that had fallen off the reinforced steel structure was replaced, but it was not a structural problem.Andy Ryan, spokesman for Seattle Public Utilities, said the water flowing out of the pipe was shut down slowly Wednesday to avoid problems with the system. The utility believes there was a horizontal break in the pipe, which had its last leak 15 years ago.

An earlier incident occurred on April 25 when a 20-inch water main sprouted like a geyser and flooded several streets and businesses in the city’s South Lake Union neighborhood. The water main break was due to a construction accident.

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