Sinkhole Repairs Expected to be Completed by Tuesday

A large sinkhole that closed a major Union City intersection on Wednesday afternoon is tentatively expected to be repaired by late afternoon on Tuesday, a city spokeswoman said Thursday.

Alameda County Water District crews will work overnight to repair a ruptured water main that flooded the 10-foot-deep pit at the intersection of Alvarado Boulevard and New Haven Street Wednesday night. Water service has since been restored. The sides of the hole -- originally about 10 by 12 feet but now excavated to 25 by 25 feet -- must be shorn up before crews can access the water main and complete the repair work, city spokeswoman Lauren Sugayan said.

Once the water main repairs are complete, the water district will hand the work off to the Union Sanitary District, which will dig even deeper to access the sewer lines and make sure they are functioning properly. Once they dig to the bottom, they hope to determine the sinkhole’s cause. The water main break is not believed to have caused the sinkhole. Rather, the growing hole is thought to have broken the main, causing the hole to flood at about 8 p.m. and forming a small pond in the center of the intersection. Police warned people to stay away from the intersection of Alvarado Boulevard and New Haven Street just before 2 p.m. after the hole was spotted by a passerby.

Alvarado Boulevard is closed between Fair Ranch Road and New Haven Street, but firefighters can still access Alameda County Fire Station 32 at that intersection, though they can only make right turns on to Alvarado. Firefighters at that station were the first to respond when someone knocked on their door and alerted them to the gaping hole. The traffic disruptions have also complicated matters for parents picking up and dropping off students at nearby Alvarado Middle School.

The school’s parking lot is closed and parents are being asked to use Fredi Street for drop-offs and pickups, school officials said. City officials hope to have repairs fully completed and the streets reopened by Tuesday afternoon.

Previous:

• Crews Digging Out Large Sinkhole, Streets Remain Closed

By Bay City News

Photo courtesy City of Union City; video embed of repairs Wednesday night courtesy Alameda County Fire Twitter