HUDseen: What Holes In The Truck Route?

During the two most recent Informal Common Council meetings, DPW Superintendent Robert Perry mentioned that the city was dealing with some sinkholes and other water-related infrastructure issues that have appeared on and under our streets and alleys due to the heavy rains we have been having of late. Last month he mentioned the South 4th Street water main break which had occurred a few nights prior to the meeting. This month he did not mention that break or the effort to repair it. And so, the mess on and below the street remains, and no one outside of DPW is quite sure when the repair job will begin or end. There are other subterranean issues that DPW should show more urgency to as well.

Take the small hole in the street at the intersection of 6th and Columbia, near the northeast corner. I noticed that hole in the asphalt, a sure sign of a sinkhole, approximately 3 months ago. I sent pictures via email to DPW and the mayor to make sure they were aware of it. Nothing has been done since.

Rewind to early last year, when I began to notice a sharp drop in the level of 6th Street just as one passed through the intersection -- a very odd depression nearly all the way across where 6th Street meets the north side of Columbia Street, as if the street were no longer able to support itself. Drivers and bicyclists on 6th Street felt it every time going through the intersection -- KA CHUNC KA CHUNK. DPW then filled in the sunken area, from the northeast corner to the northwest corner (you can see their patch in the pictures). It was obvious to me that something was going on below the street, and that DPW's patch was nothing more than a temporary solution. Then the hole in the patch appeared recently. Aha! Sinkhole! Something is indeed going on below! (Look at all the cracks in the street surrounding DPW's patch).

What I have noticed about sinkholes that DPW has their eyes on is this: they patch or otherwise cover the hole, spray paint a box around the area, then cut the pavement along those lines. That cut area will be excavated and DPW will have a look to see what is going on below. They did exactly this recently in the 500 block of Columbia and finished that job two weeks ago. They cut a huge box in the pavement around a hole in the 300 block of Columbia street (also truck route land) 7 weeks ago and have done nothing since. The 300 block of Long Alley had a large sinkhole repaired recently which started as a small hole on the surface, as did the 500 block of State Street (DPW dug that hole, but a private contractor had to do the remaining work). Since there is no patch over the hole at 6th and Columbia, nor any spray paint or cut pavement, my guess is that Robert Perry is not at all concerned about that little hole in the street. He should be.

From a tiny hole, to this

Even the smallest hole can indicate huge problems below. A hole in the street like that is nothing more than a huge red flag with the following written on it: IGNORE ME AND I WILL BITE YOU IN THE ASS! I'M GIVING YOU A HEADS UP! THE LONGER YOU WAIT, THE LARGER MY SINKHOLE BECOMES AND THE WEAKER THIS STREET BECOMES. I SUGGEST YOU GET BUSY NOW!

A few days ago, I cut a 6 foot length of stiff copper wire to attempt to gauge what might be going on below that small hole. After a little probing just below the surface, I was able to make nearly half of the length of the wire disappear below the street. 34 inches, to be exact. NEARLY 3 FEET OF NOTHING! It's difficult to say how wide that sinkhole is, but it really doesn't matter how large it is, does it? There is obviously a problem at 6th and Columbia, and it ain't getting any better on its own. But our DPW doesn't seem to mind. For the past week or two, a DPW crew of 6 or 7 has been busy covering several of our alleys with another layer of asphalt. What hole at 6th and the truck route?

There is another indication of a sinkhole under a street, this one near work that DPW did last year to fix a leak in front of the county building at 610 State Street. Again, one small hole with no patch, no cones, no spray paint, no cut box on the asphalt indicating "time to dig." In other words, zero attention from DPW. The hole and depression are worsening by the week.

In nearby Schenectady in late July, a sinkhole opened up on a street after a car stopped on what appeared to be perfectly stable pavement. The car dropped into the hole and landed next to a natural gas line, which made extraction of the vehicle tricky and slow. No one was hurt.

Here's what the Schenectady mayor had to say about the incident, referring to the busted sewer pipe that caused the sinkhole: "It's a pipe that's 100 years old and it's over 12 feet underground... We have pipe failures on a regular basis, it's an old city."

Sound familiar?

DPW should give sinkholes along our truck route special attention, which is why ignoring the hole in the 300 block of Columbia and the hole at 6th and Columbia is so concerning. What is Mr. Perry waiting for, a semi-trailer to be swallowed up by a sinkhole? How about a tanker truck full of gasoline rolling past 6th Street suddenly without a street to roll on and spilling its contents straight down Columbia Street?