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© Sonja MorrisonA nearby resident checks out the large sinkhole that opened up on 2nd Ave SE near the corner of 1st St SE in Carman.
No injuries reported as street closed

This was more than just a regular pothole.

Town of Carman work crews were called out to 2nd Ave SE near the corner of First Street SE after receiving a call about a large sinkhole approximately six feet by five feet and about five feet deep, on the street.

Sonja Morrison, who lives near the site with her family, said they heard a "thump" and then a second louder one when they went outside their home to take a look at around 5:15 p.m. on Monday (July 25).

Collapsed

"By the time we came out it had fully collapsed," Morrison said. "It was fairly deep as well."

And after viewing the scene they were concerned about more damage underneath the street.

"I was a little worried about the amount of support under the road and if it would collapse further," she said.

Morrison said someone had called town work crews and they were on the scene "within minutes". The town workers closed off the road and remained at the scene overnight until construction crews arrived.

She added the construction crews have since torn up a larger part of the street for a major repair.

Over A Galvanized Sewer Pipe

The town's chair of works and operations, Coun. Brad Johnston said from their initial investigation, the part of the road that sank was over top of a galvanized sewer pipe.

"It would appear that sometime in the past they tried to repair it before with a galvanized pipe but those things just don't last as long," Johnston said. "There's a great big hole there this morning (Tuesday)."

He said from their initial reports a vehicle went over the area and softened the surface a little and then another vehicle went over it and sank a little further with some minor damage to the vehicle.

However, there were no injuries.

Johnston noted the town has a camera system and will be checking out other streets for potential problem areas.

He said while they didn't have an exact time when the street would be repaired and open to traffic again, the construction crews are experienced at doing these types of major repairs.

"It's too soon to tell but it's always amazing what they can do with their equipment."