Sinkholes
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Colosseum

Sinkhole opens up in the middle of Dublin's Dame Street

Michael Sheils McNamee
The Journal, Ireland
Thu, 02 Apr 2015 01:54 UTC
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Sinkhole in Dublin.
A sinkhole has opened up on Dublin's Dame Street, causing traffic delays in the centre of the city.

The hole is around three feet in diameter and has been cordoned off by Garda at the scene.

It is expected to be covered later this evening and an investigation into what caused it will begin tomorrow.

An engineer at the scene said that it could have been caused by water damage to the foundations beneath the road surface.

Westbound traffic on Dame Street is currently suspended between George Street and Parliament Street and cars are being advised to use alternative routes.

Comment: Apparently the hole may have exposed a tunnel through which 19th century politicians would sneak in and out of a brothel! Nowadays, of course, they don't bother going to such lengths to hide their predilections.

See also: Truck becomes stuck in sinkhole in Bronx

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Attention

Sinkhole closes bridge in Plymouth Township


The Times Herald
Thu, 02 Apr 2015 02:00 UTC
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© Carl Rotenberg ― Times Herald StaffA sinkhole creates dangerous conditions on the Plymouth Road bridge in Plymouth Township Wednesday, April 1, 2015. The township has announced that due to the sinkholes, the bridge will need to replaced.
Plymouth Road is closed due to severe structural and foundation damage at the bridge over Plymouth Creek that was caused by undermining from sinkholes.

The road was closed last month to repair sinkholes that appeared at the foundation of the bridge abutements.

The existing bridge will not reopen and must be replaced, according to a post on the Plymouth Township website.

Comment: Also see: Sinkhole opens up and swallows man in Pennsylvania, but who pays to fix it?

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Attention

Work truck gets stuck in a sinkhole on way home in Burton, Michigan

Gary Ridley
M Live
Thu, 02 Apr 2015 02:09 UTC
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A work truck from Home Service Center fell into a sinkhole around 9 a.m. Tuesday, March 31, on the 1400 block of Connell Street in Burton.
Kristie Welsh was searching for an address when the road gave way and her work truck came to an abrupt stop.

Police and road crews were dispatched around 9 a.m. Tuesday, March 31, to the 1400 block of Connell Street after Welsh's work truck became stuck in a sinkhole.

Welsh, an employee at Home Service Center, said she was searching for the house where she was hired to do some plumbing work when her truck collapsed into the street.

Comment: Also see: Huge sinkhole creates safety concerns in Riverdale, New York

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Huge sinkhole creates safety concerns in Riverdale, New York

David Knox
tvtonight.com.au
Tue, 31 Mar 2015 10:51 UTC
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A gaping sinkhole has opened up in Riverdale, creating safety issues for people in the neighborhood.
A gaping sinkhole has opened up in Riverdale, creating safety issues for people in the neighborhood.

Crews began repairs at Oxford Avenue and West 236th Street Monday. They say the massive hole started as a water main break late last week.

The Department of Environmental Protection told News 12 that the hole was repaired yesterday afternoon. However, the spot was still cordoned off on Tuesday creating a tricky four-way intersection for drivers.

Assemblyman Jeff Dinowitz's office looked more into the cause of the hole, and says the DEP inspectors determined that there were leaks to the 12-inch cast iron water main running underneath the street.
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Sinkhole opens up and swallows man in Pennsylvania, but who pays to fix it?

Patrick Cloonan
Trib Live
Wed, 01 Apr 2015 04:41 UTC
Sinkhole
© UnknownA man was trapped in a sinkhole Friday night under the Mansfield Bridge, between Grassport and McKeesport.
A sinkhole has been covered alongside the W.D. Mansfield Memorial Bridge underpass carrying West Fifth Avenue traffic from McKeesport onto Monongahela Avenue in Glassport.

But it's uncertain who's responsible for its maintenance, three days after a man was injured falling into the sinkhole as it opened up under him.

"That is not the department's roadway," PennDOT District 11 spokesman Steve Cowan said. "My documents do not show who is the owner of the road, but I would think it would either be the municipality or the county."

Comment: For more on the danger of sinkholes, check out:
  • 45 sinkholes open up in Kaski, Nepal 50 families displaced so far
  • Car falls into sinkhole in Toronto parking lot


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Car falls into sinkhole in Toronto parking lot

David Shum
globalnews.ca
Wed, 01 Apr 2015 17:10 UTC
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© Cam WoolleyA car that fell into a large sinkhole in the city's west end Wednesday morning is shown.
No injuries were reported after a car fell into a large sinkhole at a west-end Toronto parking lot Wednesday morning.

Toronto police spokesperson Cst. Victor Kwong said the hole was originally reported the day before but the vehicle fell in today.

A photograph posted on Twitter by Metrolinx spokesperson Anne Marie Aikins shows the car's front end completely immersed in the ground with its trunk and roof visible.

The sinkhole is located at parking lot on Todd Baylis Blvd. at Industry St. near the Black Creek Dr. area.

Aikins said on Twitter the hole is not linked to the Crosstown Eglinton underground construction.

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Man rescued from sinkhole in McKeesport after he calls 911


WPXI
Sat, 28 Mar 2015 08:45 UTC

Rescuers pulled a man from a sinkhole that opened up on the Mansfield Bridge in McKeesport on Saturday night.
West Fifth Avenue below the bridge was closed, McKeesport Deputy Fire Chief Don Sabol said. Authorities also stopped train traffic during the rescue, he said. The cause of the sinkhole was not immediately known, Sabol said.

According to a tweet sent out by Western PA Fire News, confined space rescue was needed and the man was about ten feet down into the hole. The man was carried off on a stretcher and flown to an area hospital after firefighters rescued him. The incident was reported by emergency dispatchers around 7:30 p.m., when the man called 911 himself, after falling in the hole.

The man is in his forties and was walking to meet a friend at the Marathon gas station in McKeesport, when he fell. Officials are still investigating, what caused the sinkhole.

Comment: See also:

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Hiker dies and another injured after cliff collapse in Point Reyes, California


San Francisco Chronicle
Sun, 22 Mar 2015 12:58 UTC
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© National Parks ServiceA view of the rockslide at Arch Rock taken by crewmembers in the Sonoma County sheriff's helicopter, Henry 1 on Saturday, March 21, 2015.
One person is dead and another person suffered critical injuries after an apparent rockslide at Point Reyes National Seashore Saturday evening, according to a park employee.

Emergency medical crews with the Marin County Fire Department responded at 5:55 p.m. to a report of a rescue in the area of Arch Rock in the West Marin park, Marin County fire Battalion Chief Mike Giannini said.

Two hikers were walking along Bear Valley Trail when they reached the end of the trail, the Arch Rock overlook, John Dell'Osso, a spokesman for the U.S. National Park Service said.

The cliff unexpectedly gave way and they fell an estimated 60 feet below. They were covered in rubble and rock, Dell'Osso said.

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Sinkhole swallows garbage truck in Jersey City

Summer Dawn Hortillosa
The Jersey Journal
Fri, 27 Mar 2015 13:43 UTC
Sinkhole St. Louis
© UnknownSinkholes across the US have been doing major damage.
Litter was the least concern of Jersey City residents opposed to trash in the streets when a garbage truck got stuck in a sinkhole early Wednesday morning, police said.

At 1:24 a.m., a garbage truck from Industrial Waste Management got stuck in a 4-by-2 foot sinkhole on Woodland Avenue between Lembeck and Greenville avenues, a police report says.

Comment: Also see:

Colorado city stumped by sinkhole with no broken water pipes

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Question

Colorado city stumped by sinkhole with no broken water pipes

Peter Roper
Pueblo Chieftain
Tue, 24 Mar 2015 17:55 UTC
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© CHIEFTAIN PHOTO/CHRIS MCLEAN City crews recently discovered a 4 foot-deep sinkhole when they went to fix what was originally reported as a pot hole on North Elizabeth near 29th Street on Tuesday.
City crews are repairing a 4-foot-deep sinkhole that appeared in North Elizabeth Street last Friday evening.

Public Works Director Earl Wilkinson said the cause of the sinkhole hasn't been determined, but it did not cause any injury.

"We excavated down about 8 feet and all the material is dry," he said Tuesday, meaning there was no sign of underground water causing a subsidence. "We may never know why this one occurred."

The sinkhole is just north of the Elizabeth and 29th Street intersection.

Wilkinson said the city will fill the hole with a concrete-like material that will fill up any gaps in the soil. Then a layer of aggregate will be poured on top, followed by fresh asphalt. The repair should be completed by the end of the week.

"We were fortunate no one was injured by driving into it," he said.

Comment: So much for the 'burst water mains cause sinkholes' theory. Rather, it's the sinkholes causing water mains to break...

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