Robbinsdale Water Main Break Causes Sinkhole, Road Closures
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) - A water main broke at 42nd Avenue and Bottineau Boulevard in Robbinsdale Saturday morning, causing a 50-feet wide sinkhole.
Robbinsdale Sinkhole
Traffic is being rerouted around the affected area. County Road 81 is closed all the way to Highway 100, as is 42nd Avenue from Broadway to Lakeland.
"It is an amazing sight, especially after seeing all the trees down form the storm, it's still surreal to see this," witness Susan Ritchie said. "The entire street heaved and the tar eroded."
Laurel Dunham says he saw the sinkhole start out as a tiny crack in the road.
"It started out a real small crack and then it started getting bigger and bigger, and then all of a sudden everything started collapsing," Dunham said.
The water main was 36 inches in diameter, and also delivers water to New Hope, Crystal and Golden Valley.
Robbinsdale mayor Regan Murphy says he is thankful that no one was hurt.
"What they think happened was once the pipe ruptured or whatever happened, the water level kept the road up until they shut down the water main. Then at that point in time, the water washed away the rest of the soil beneath the road, and that's when it collapsed," Murphy said.
It could take two weeks to repair both the water main. The road could be closed for weeks.
