ST. LOUIS – A water main break caused a residential street in Dogtown to partially collapse, resulting in a sinkhole and headaches for homeowners now dealing with the cleanup.
Crews started repairs to the sinkhole on Nashville Avenue Tuesday.
“Last night, I was taking the dogs on a walk, and I saw the hole, which was crazy, super glad that we’re all still standing here,” said Morgan Maberry, a Dogtown resident.
A large crack in the asphalt surfaced on Saturday, later giving way to a sinkhole that almost took longtime resident Ryan Kelly’s car with it.
“I ran out here, and it didn’t look too bad; I went back to get my keys, and everything had just collapsed,” Kelly said. “It was already 10 feet wide, and we stood out here and watched it just keep crumbling in.”
The Metropolitan Sewer District (MSD) said they altered to a water main break on Saturday.
A video showed sewage water spilling onto the street. The city eventually shut it off, and MSD started repairs… But not before it caused 30 inches of sewage to flood next door.
“Their basement is a total loss, it’s horrible,” Kelly said. “They actually had to move out for the time being.”
Four feet below the street, the water main broke, leading the sewage lines 12 feet under to break as well, which caused the sinkhole. The hole is temporarily covered.
This comes amidst a “flood” of water main breaks across the city and a proposed historic 44% water rate increase that would fund a $400 million infrastructure improvement project.
MSD currently has over 300 sewage improvement projects throughout the area.
The sinkhole in Dogtown is expected to be fixed by the end of the week.
“My family’s been here 100 years, and I’m not going to move out of this neighborhood because I love Dogtown,” Kelly said. “But the city and MSD need to get their act together and start doing some work.”