Repairs Resume On Downtown Detroit Sinkhole
DETROIT (WWJ) - The massive sinkhole in downtown Detroit should be repaired within two weeks — if not sooner — according to Darryl Latimer with the Detroit Water Department.
After a bit of a delay, the green-light has given to continue repairs on the hole, which measures about 10 feet by 10 feet.
Latimer said an investigation into what caused the sinkhole continues, because it appears a water main break was not what started the problem.
"For that amount of damage to occur, we expect that it was something that was already taken place within that area ... and may have caused our water main to break," he said.
The sinkhole halted traffic on Monday, affecting those headed to public days at the North American International Auto Show. It's on Randolph Street at the intersection of Jefferson Avenue, right by the Coleman A. Young municipal building and the Millender Center.
M-DOT recommends taking an alternate route like the Lodge if you're headed to events such as the auto show until repairs are complete.
Meantime, Latimer said that working in this kind of weather is tough on all of his crews.
"We try to make sure that they rotate; don't stand out in the weather for a long period of time," Latimer said. "Rotate, go back in the truck, heat yourself back up. We don't want them getting frostbitten or anything like that.
"What that does it make the jobs take longer. We fix less mains in conditions like this," he said.
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