Milwaukee, you have another sinkhole. And, now I know why my water pressure dropped on Saturday night.
A water main break caused Milwaukee's latest sinkhole on a side street ramp that connects the Humboldt Bridge to Riverboat Road. I tweeted photos of it this morning, but thought I'd post in a blog, too.
The hole is just north of Stubby's Pub and Grub, 2060 N. Humboldt Ave. A July 2010 sinkhole happened at the corner of North and Oakland Avenues, about one-half of a mile from this incident.
I'll add details from the City when I get them. The Humboldt Bridge is open to traffic.
Here's an update, as of 11:15 a.m. Monday, March 14 from the Department of Public Works and Milwaukee Water Works:
"A sinkhole approximately 30 ft. by 20 ft. by 20 ft. deep developed as the result of a 42- inch water main break on Saturday night, March 11th on the ramp leading from Humboldt Avenue down to Riverboat Road. The water main break seems to have led to the failure of a nearby storm sewer manhole allowing the soils and gravel base to wash out through the sewer and undermine the ramp roadway. At this time, other than the sewer manhole failure, it doesn't look like there was any damage to the 72-inch storm sewer located immediately under the water main.
"After inspection by various Department of Public Works staff (Water, Construction, Structures and Sewers) on Sunday DPW brought in Rawson Contractors to begin clearing debris from the sinkhole and stabilize the site. The ramp roadway and sidewalk are fully closed along with the eastside sidewalk and northbound curb lane of Humboldt Avenue. Rawson returned this morning to finish clearing the sinkhole and pour slurry into adjacent voids under the walk to the east of the sinkhole. Milwaukee Water Works' engineering staff was on site this morning further assessing the damage and determining the extent of repair needed to the water main. Once it is fully understood the extent of the water main repair, Public Works can then provide a better idea of how long this effort will take. All efforts will be made to expedite the project and complete as soon as possible.
"The 1927 water main was assessed prior to the Humboldt Avenue Bridge project and was in good condition. Milwaukee Water Works staff also took preventive measures and placed internal joint seals on the main. Milwaukee Water Works reports there are 3 to 4 main breaks per day."
A life-long and passionate community leader and Milwaukeean, Jeff Sherman is a co-founder of OnMilwaukee.
He grew up in Wauwatosa and graduated from Marquette University, as a Warrior. He holds an MBA from Cardinal Stritch University, and is the founding president of Young Professionals of Milwaukee (YPM)/Fuel Milwaukee.
Early in his career, Sherman was one of youngest members of the Greater Milwaukee Committee, and currently is involved in numerous civic and community groups - including board positions at The Wisconsin Center District, Wisconsin Club and Marcus Center for the Performing Arts. He's honored to have been named to The Business Journal's "30 under 30" and Milwaukee Magazine's "35 under 35" lists.
He owns a condo in Downtown and lives in greater Milwaukee with his wife Stephanie, his son, Jake, and daughter Pierce. He's a political, music, sports and news junkie and thinks, for what it's worth, that all new movies should be released in theaters, on demand, online and on DVD simultaneously.
He also thinks you should read OnMilwaukee each and every day.
