Now that a failure in a storm sewer box has been confirmed, Emporia city officials are determining their next steps to repair a sinkhole in downtown Emporia and get traffic back to normal.
Assistant Public Works Director Jeff Meek tells KVOE News the box surrounding a 44-inch storm sewer line pushed in and failed, apparently causing the sinkhole near the southeast corner of 10th and Commercial outside Carlos Liquor that developed either late Saturday night or early Sunday morning. Exactly how long it took for the leakage to wash out the street is unclear.
Meek says the pipe in question is at least 100 years old, and city staff have to determine how to safely get into the failure zone before figuring out how extensive the damage may be nearby. Repair plans for the street and storm sewer box are to be determined.
The area also has a 10-inch waterline currently in use nearby and an abandoned waterline. Details about whether those pipes had issues are pending.
The 900 block of Commercial remains closed until further notice, meaning the heavy truck detour involving Merchant from Sixth to 12th is also in place until the Commercial Street blockage is lifted.
11:45 am Monday: Excavation underway at Emporia’s sinkhole
Excavation work has started on downtown Emporia’s sinkhole.
Work started shortly after 8 am and could last into the mid-afternoon hours.
The reasons for why the sinkhole developed just south of 10th and Commercial this past weekend are currently unclear, but it developed either late Saturday night or early Sunday morning. There are no indications any underground utilities near the sinkhole were impacted, and there are several lines near that point — a 44-inch storm sewer, a 10-inch waterline and an abandoned waterline of unlisted diameter.
The 900 block of Commercial remains closed until further notice. Heavy trucks traffic is detouring to Merchant between Sixth and 12th.
