40-foot sinkhole snarls I-25
Repairs a priority as motorists likely to see more delays
By Tillie Fong, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)
Published February 8, 2008 at 12:30 a.m.
Updated February 8, 2008 at 5:56 a.m.
Photo by Darin McGregor © The Rocky
A sinkhole closed northbound Interstate 25 between Interstate 70 and 58th Avenue tonight, just as the evening rush hour began.
Photo by Darin McGregor / The Rocky
A 16-foot-deep sinkhole closes northbound Interstate 25 before Thursday afternoon's rush hour, creating a massive traffic jam. No vehicles went into the hole near the 58th Avenue exit.
Photo by new
A sinkhole closed northbound Interstate 25 between Interstate 70 and 58th Avenue tonight, just as the evening rush hour began.
Photo by Tillie Fong © The Rocky
The broken line created a hole approximately 40 feet across, 40 feet long and 16-feet deep, said Colorado Department of Transportation spokeswoman Stacey Stegman.
A large sinkhole that caused traffic backups on Interstate 25 Thursday afternoon and evening will cause delays again today for commuters - and may take up to a week to repair.
People traveling north on I-25 this morning will likely need to use the HOV lanes from 20th Avenue to 58th Avenue, as a nearly two-mile stretch of road will probably remained closed.
It did not appear late Thursday that the HOV lanes would be available to southbound traffic as normal, according to highway officials. Buses will not be operating in HOV lanes, either. All tolls will be waived temporarily for those using the HOV lanes.
"There will be delays for HOV buses and traffic in general," said Stacey Stegman, spokeswoman for the Colorado Department of Transportation.
Stegman said it's unknown how long it will take to repair the interstate, although she had heard estimates ranging from hours to up to a week.
"We will be looking at how much can be repaired and see what we can do to open any part of it," she said.
CDOT started getting calls around 3 p.m. Thursday about a large pothole forming on northbound I-25, near the 58th Avenue exit.
The pothole quickly became a 16-foot deep sinkhole about 40 feet in diameter. Additional damage extended for another 20 feet, covering the shoulder and two lanes of the highway.
A burst 66-inch water main, which leaked about 2 million gallons of water, excavated the sinkhole and pooled to within a couple feet of the road surface. Efforts to pump it out were started late Thursday afternoon.
The water also washed a large amount of dirt from the shoulder onto a frontage road, which was being cleared Thursday evening.
A Qwest phone vault was affected by the flooding, and Callcom, at 5721 Logan St., had minor water damage.
The water main break did not affect water service to customers, although some may have experienced lower water pressure.
Traffic was diverted to the HOV lanes Thursday. Drivers hoping to reach 58th Avenue were diverted onto Federal and Sheridan boulevards and Washington Street. Those wanting to get onto Interstate 76 had to use Federal Boulevard.
The first job will be to drain the hole to see how extensive the damage is, officials said. Heavy equipment was enlarging the sinkhole another 50 feet into the highway as well.
"We want to make sure that it is stable in other areas," Stegman said.
Late Thursday night, concrete was still being removed from the site, and Denver Water was working to repair the water main. Pavement can't be restored until that is completed.
Equipment from contractors who were working on nearby projects was brought in to assist in the repair.
About the break
* About 2 million gallons of water leaked from the pipe. In comparison, Denver Water's daily demand this time of year is 115 million gallons.
* The conduit was installed in 1978.
* There were no reports of customers without water service, but some customers may experience lower water pressure.
* If there is a water outage, customers can call 303-628-6000 to report it.
* Some Qwest phone equipment also was affected.
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February 8, 2008
9:52 a.m.
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misterchinaski writes:
the only answer is to raise our taxes. that will surely keep this from happening in the future.
February 8, 2008
9:56 a.m.
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farsidefan writes:
I sure hope they don't waste the taxpayers dollars to fix this problem. I would hate to see my tax money spent on something as foolish as this. Damn governtment !
I see that they worked all night. Those lousy, lazy, govt workers at CDOT had to work during the night just so they could collect overtime being paid by my TAXES ! I bet someone snuck into the pipe and broke it just so
they could spend more of my tax dollars !
I thought I would save all you anti tax people some time and post this for you.
February 8, 2008
9:58 a.m.
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farsidefan writes:
Dang, I was too late...
February 8, 2008
10:13 a.m.
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misterchinaski writes:
"Dang, I was too late..."
that's what bill ritter said as he sat up all night long crying about how if only there were more taxes this tragedy never would have occured.
February 8, 2008
10:58 a.m.
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farsidefan writes:
Could you identify what services you think govt should be responsible for and you are willing to pay for ? Do these exist ? Seriously, I am curious.
I don't want flaming generalities. Do you really know how your tax money is used ?
February 8, 2008
11:54 a.m.
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farsidefan writes:
Dan2,
Thanks for the start. I'm no expert on state budget but some of the numbers are a bit misleading. Example: Under the table " Operating " I know the Dept of Ed does not use that much money for Operating funds. In the actual state budget process, operating includes supplies, telephone, technology,travel,copying, printing, etc. The big budget item for the Dept of Ed is the money it sends to local districts on a per pupil amount (that is why the Oct. count is so important to districts.)
There is an item in the state process that says you have to ask for spending authority to spend money you collect. That amount shows up as part of your budget total.
I don't know if the amount for Revenue includes the money they return to us on our tax returns.
I bet if you really wanted to know you could find more specific info by looking at the proposed "Long Bill" for this year. This is the budget put together by the JBC and approved by both the legislature and the governor. It is usually one of the last bills passed but you should be able to find it somewhere on the legislature website.
February 8, 2008
11:57 a.m.
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hdfresh writes:
I didn't know they built a swimming pool in the middle of I-25?
February 8, 2008
12:12 p.m.
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farsidefan writes:
Dan2
Here is last year's "Long Bill". You can find each agencies budget. The budget is fairly specific.
http://www.leg.state.co.us/CLICS/CLIC...
February 8, 2008
1:22 p.m.
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HolierThanThou writes:
An idiot wrote:
"So, you want to rely on these very same Government folks for your healthcare?"
CDOT (Colorado Dept of Transportation) concerns roads and bridges, not hospitals. CDOT does not operate water supplies and isn't responsible for the weather. CDOT did not break that water main.
Guess who enjoys government operated health care in the USA? Your president and his staff, members of congress, and most federal employees. It seems to work for them. There's no stampede to private health insurance amongst the lot, although the way they talk you'd reckon Cheney would swap his fake heart just pay premiums to your local HMO.
But this isn't about health care. It's about broken brains that cannot be fixed. Those that rely on Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter to fortify their delusions, like Nazis gathered round the radio to hear Hitler's rants while bombs destroy their city.
A water main broke, bad news for I-25 commuters. It doesn't prove anything except perhaps that the pipe wasn't buried deep enough or the dirt wasn't tamped around it hard enough to bear the dynamic load of all that traffic. The oscillating strain finally ruptured the pipe.
While we're on the subject of heavy traffic, I heard that Ann Coulter specifically suggested that all writers with the byline SASQUATCH go play in some.
February 8, 2008
1:56 p.m.
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fishtanksamurai writes:
Did anyone else hear the gentleman on 630 KHOW yesterday who was telling the hosts that they (whoever they are) have been watching this spot for awhile and check that spot each year with ground penetrating radar? He said this was "bound to happen". Which makes me wonder what preventive measures if any were taken. Was the public knowingly put at risk? If this problem was indeed known before hand was it managed properly? I'm really starting to wonder about what's going on in this town. I'm glad no one was hurt.
February 8, 2008
5:43 p.m.
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Shaupeen writes:
Sixteen feet deep??!! Somebody call Parks and Rec. We need a turnstile and a lifeguard.
February 8, 2008
8:05 p.m.
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rurude writes:
Sasquash;
It's funny how you don't have anything better to say - Webb has been out of office how long? And you still feel inferior to a this Black Man's intelligence?