LaGuardia Airport sinkhole snarls Memorial Day Weekend travel for some flyers
A sinkhole caused delays at LaGuardia International Airport for a third day Friday, hampering some flyers' Memorial Day Weekend travel plans.
The runway was supposed to open back up Thursday, but the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said crews found areas of concern, so now the runway isn't expected to be in service again until 6 a.m. Saturday.
What caused the sinkhole?
Crews discovered the sinkhole during a routine inspection Wednesday morning.
The Port Authority said during investigatory inspections of the airfield Thursday using ground-penetrating radar, "possible areas of concern were identified and proactively repaired."
To be safe, engineers are conducting even more inspections, which will keep the runway closed until Saturday.
Boules Morkos, a research fellow in geotechnical engineering at New York University, said the fact that LaGuardia was built on a landfill could possibly contribute to the sinkhole.
"Because filled soil ... doesn't have the same strength like the naturally deposed soil that's already there," he said. "So of course it can be a reason."
Morkos said LaGuardia's ground-penetrating radar is evaluating the surrounding soil.
"To check if the soil down there or around the area is sound enough, or if there's a chance for more loose points to have more sinkholes or not," he said.
He added that because they found one sinkhole, it could be likely that there may be more.
Port Authority sources tell CBS News New York that investigators are looking into several possible causes of the sinkhole, including a nearby fuel line tunneling project.
Travelers impacted
LaGuardia has just two runways, so the prolonged closure has created a domino effect of delays.
The Edwards got a late start to their Memorial Day Weekend. They had planned to surprise a relative who's retiring, but their flight was two hours late.
"We'll miss the exciting dinner surprise," Kerry Edwards said. "Now we have to make a new [surprise]."
Sariah Taylor was supposed to fly in from Phoenix on Wednesday morning.
"On the way here was crazy," she said. "We had two delays, a cancellation."
She thought the runway would have been reopened for her flight home Friday.
"It's delayed, but it's less delayed than it was," she said.
Lori Berman hopes her flight home to Florida takes off on time.
"I'm going home because I'm having a big barbeque at my house on Sunday," she said. "I'm concerned because they just redid this whole airport and now we're having problems with it?"
