Five lanes of traffic on Broadway are closed after a 152-year-old sewer pipe caved in beneath the pavement. The break happened at Broadway and South Preston Street, after Sunday's heavy rains.
The three-layer brick pipe was first built in 1866. Yesterday's failure happened at the site of earlier repairs made in 1989. The same sewer line has seen other cave-ins in 2009, 2014, and 2015, in different places.
A statement from the Metropolitan Sewer District (MSD) said small breaks in the pipe, combined with the rainy weather, caused an open space to open up just under the street. The open space was about 10 feet by 15 feet, and 8 feet deep.
Work is underway to fix the break, but there's no estimate on when it might be complete. MSD said there should be no interruption in sewer service during the repairs.
