A sinkhole that appeared Monday in a busy Bangor intersection was caused by water “spewing” out of an underground pipe, the city’s public works director said.
When public works crews investigated under the road Tuesday morning for the cause of the sinkhole at the intersection of Oak and Washington streets, they found water coming out of a Bangor Water District pipe, said Aaron Huotari, director of public works.
The water district is investigating the sinkhole, and it’s too early to know more about the situation, water district engineer Mary Bourque said Tuesday.
A roughly 10-by-5 foot hole was cut into the pavement as of Tuesday afternoon. The original sinkhole was about 2 feet wide.
One lane of travel toward Brewer and one lane toward Veazie were closed to traffic as well.
Once the pipe is repaired, the water district is responsible for refilling the hole and repairing the road, Huorari said. He expects a temporary patch will be placed until the pavement plants open later this month.
Bangor public works typically repairs a few sinkholes every spring. A sinkhole is a depression in pavement compared with potholes, which are caused by water weakening the pavement before it breaks apart from the weight of vehicles driving on the road.
