Sinkhole Appears Near Popular Fort Worth Shopping & Dining Area
FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) - Traffic in the busy West 7th Street area is being forced to detour around a roughly six-foot long sinkhole that formed at the intersection at Carroll Street.
"It's a busy intersection, a lot of pedestrians," says Juan Cazena, Fort Worth's Chief Operations Officer. "We want to make sure we keep everybody safe."
For now, workers have erected a temporary barricade to make sure everyone stays clear until repairs can be made. For now, that means commuters and shoppers will have to make do with one less traffic lane on 7th, and Carroll north of the intersection has been blocked off, forcing drivers to detour onto 6th.
"I am in shock!" exclaimed Kelsey Stevens when she spotted the reason for the barricades. "That's crazy that could happen!"
Sinkholes typically form as a result of erosion--either natural or man made. Right now, workers just aren't sure what made this one form underneath a Fort Worth street.
"It's hard to say. In this situation, there's no telling what it could be," says Cazena. "We are still investigating trying to see what the issue might be and we have a contractor here that's going to jump in and start making repairs as soon as we can... as he uncovers, we'll find what the situation is."
The cold dreary weather today may just have been a blessing in disguise-- fewer folks getting out, but with warmer temperatures in the forecast, the weekend should be extra busy-- and extra congested.
"It's right next to Montgomery Plaza and there's a lot of traffic around there," says Stevens. "7th street has a lot of business. I just think this backup is going to be really bad for everyone around this area."
Bad. But, it could've been worse. Just ask Lisa Fellers.
"I was with a friend, a couple of years ago and we were going to a restaurant, all of a sudden--it had been raining--and then we just went through the parking lot and then WHAM!" exclaims Fellers, "and it completely destroyed his car!"
Workers say the unusually wet weather could be a factor.
Repairs and therefore traffic disruptions could continue for the next couple of weeks.
"We will get to it as quick as we can... [and] make the repairs as quick as we can," says Cazena.
So far, the sinkhole is only disrupting traffic. City staffers say no other underground pipelines or utilities have been impacted.
Still. "It affects everybody every day," says Fellers. "I mean, it's a major thoroughfare and it's really important to fix our streets."