City crews have been working non-stop to patch potholes throughout Richmond, but this winter could cause more serious problems on city streets.
One sinkhole has already formed in the 3900 block of West Marshall Street and crews had to block off a lane of traffic to keep drivers safe.
CBS 6 has learned more could surface, but it's not just the snow that's to blame. The Department of Public Utilities says in a city as old as Richmond, problems like this could keep popping up thanks to older roads, pipes and sewers.
Angela Fountain with the Department of Public Utilities says,"We have a lot of history and things that we can brag about but one of those things is going to be historic pipes unfortunately."
A CBS 6 crew spotted a five-foot deep hole on West Marshall Street Wednesday just outside of Interlink Supply. Neil Fowler, who is the manager there, says, "We had a customer come out, out of our store and start to leave. And he comes back in the store, saying, by the way. 'There's a big pothole getting bigger out here in front of your store.'"
Fowler says the street is the only way for clients and customers to get into their business.
A steel plate is covering the massive hole now and it's blocked off to traffic, but some drivers are still having to maneuver around it.
The Department of Public Utilities tells all the snow and ice have weakened some joints in an underground sewer line and Fountain says, "A lot of it goes into the ground, a lot of it goes into our infrastructure. So, it's really having an impact on our streets."
And for now, there's no way to prevent sinkholes. Fountain says,"We're constantly looking for older pipes in the city and making the repairs to them, proactively, but as soon as the problem occurs such as this we make sure that we get right out there and handle it."
We're told utility crews will have the sinkhole permanently repaired sometime Friday, but they'll have to shut down the street.
One sinkhole has already formed in the 3900 block of West Marshall Street and crews had to block off a lane of traffic to keep drivers safe.
CBS 6 has learned more could surface, but it's not just the snow that's to blame. The Department of Public Utilities says in a city as old as Richmond, problems like this could keep popping up thanks to older roads, pipes and sewers.
Angela Fountain with the Department of Public Utilities says,"We have a lot of history and things that we can brag about but one of those things is going to be historic pipes unfortunately."
A CBS 6 crew spotted a five-foot deep hole on West Marshall Street Wednesday just outside of Interlink Supply. Neil Fowler, who is the manager there, says, "We had a customer come out, out of our store and start to leave. And he comes back in the store, saying, by the way. 'There's a big pothole getting bigger out here in front of your store.'"
Fowler says the street is the only way for clients and customers to get into their business.
A steel plate is covering the massive hole now and it's blocked off to traffic, but some drivers are still having to maneuver around it.
The Department of Public Utilities tells all the snow and ice have weakened some joints in an underground sewer line and Fountain says, "A lot of it goes into the ground, a lot of it goes into our infrastructure. So, it's really having an impact on our streets."
And for now, there's no way to prevent sinkholes. Fountain says,"We're constantly looking for older pipes in the city and making the repairs to them, proactively, but as soon as the problem occurs such as this we make sure that we get right out there and handle it."
We're told utility crews will have the sinkhole permanently repaired sometime Friday, but they'll have to shut down the street.
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