MONROE — Crews hoped to have both lanes of U.S. 2 west of Monroe open for this morning’s commute.
Officials discovered a 29-foot-long sinkhole under the roadway near French Creek Bridge during a routine inspection Wednesday morning.
Workers had to pull up the pavement over the sinkhole, fill it and patch it with new pavement.
The 5-foot-deep void under the pavement probably wasn’t an immediate threat to drivers, Department of Transportation spokeswoman Meghan Soptich said.
“There’s no indication of distress to the pavement,” she said. “To be on the safe side, we decided to close and fix it.”
Crews set up a detour on Roosevelt Road so westbound drivers could skirt the sinkhole. Eastbound drivers were directed to drive down a single lane of U.S. 2.
Sinkholes aren’t common, Soptich said. This one probably developed when heavy rains saturated the soil, which then started to crumble away.
Debra Smith: 425-339-3197, dsmith@heraldnet.com.
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