Sinkhole opens up on busy roadway in Miami

Water main break believed to have caused sinkhole

MIAMI ā€“ A sinkhole opened up Monday afternoon on a busy roadway in Miami.

The sinkhole opened on Southwest 27th Avenue between Sixth and Seventh streets.

Sky 10 was above the scene just before 3:30 p.m. as authorities roped off all southbound lanes near the small sinkhole, backing up traffic. One fire truck was at the scene.

Traffic was detoured to Flagler Street.

While the sinkhole didn't appear to be large at first glance, authorities said underneath the street the hole extended through all three lanes.

"We found what appears to be like a 4x4-size opening in the middle of the southbound lanes of 27th Avenue, but as the fire crews got a little closer they could see the damage was much wider than what appeared on the surface," Miami Department of Fire-Rescue Capt. Ignatius Carroll said.

The chunk of street gave way across from Miami-Dade College's Inter-American campus.

"We are sure that there was no vehicle that was actually damaged as a result of this, but it appears that something tremendously heavy caused this to actually happen, and it's a good thing that it occurred before actual rush-hour traffic," Carroll said. Ā 

County sewer workers later determined that a water main break caused the sinkhole.

"There's a lot of water inside the sinkhole, and it appears that the damage inside of the sinkhole seems to spread into three of the lanes," Carroll said.Ā 

Workers said they will have to pump the water out and then use a backhoe to cut an even bigger hole to make repairs.

All southbound lanes near the sinkhole will remain closed under the road is repaired.

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About the Authors:

Amanda Batchelor is the Digital Executive Producer for Local10.com.