Just before the start of summer, part of West Seventh Street in St. Paul, Minnesota, collapsed — opening a 35-foot sinkhole that damaged a sewer tunnel built more than a century ago.

"All the ground under the street had been eroding for years, most likely from water, and it created this void, and then the void just collapsed," said Sean Kershaw, the city's public works director. 

Crews spent the next four months diverting sewage, reinforcing the tunnel and filling the ground above. The work was slow and deliberate because crews were repairing a tunnel only 6 feet tall and 2.5 feet wide.

"We put in down below about 100 cubic yards of shotcrete," Kershaw said, referring to the special concrete used to stabilize the walls and ceiling.

Businesses along West Seventh felt the impact. At Patrick McGovern's, bartender Anthony Gomez said parking was the biggest issue. 

"The only thing that was really eliminated was parking from the street, but that doesn't affect us too much because we have a parking lot in the back," Gomez said. "It did last the whole summer, though. That was super unfortunate."

Nearby restaurants like Burger Moe's struggled more with traffic and parking, though Gomez said business was able to weather the closure overall.

"Wasn't too bad," he said. "Overall, I'm happy that it's done, for sure."

City officials say West Seventh is now fully reopened. Preventative work is planned in 2026 to strengthen connections to the aging tunnel and reduce the risk of another collapse.