A sinkhole swallowed up part of the sidewalk on a busy trail right near Lake Michigan. The ground gave way around 9 a.m. Sunday morning near the entrance of Big Bay Park in Whitefish Bay. Officials say nobody was injured. "It looks like it's the size of a car," Jeff Aikin, who lives nearby, said. Workers put up a big metal fence Monday to keep onlookers a safe distance back from the sinkhole."I use that sidewalk every day," Aikin said. "I'm glad I wasn't standing there."WISN 12 News spoke with nearby residents, all of whom remarked about how often they use the exact trail, now about 20 feet underground. "I could not believe that that's where my husband and I walk every single day," Jane Collins said. Matthew Collins, the director of Public Works for the Village of Whitefish Bay blames a 90-year-old storm sewer. A burst pipe underground caused everything above ground to give way. "One of the major pipes that goes down 70 feet in the ground, it most likely collapsed, which created an erosion issue with that utility," Collins said. Engineers worked on site all day Monday. "Making sure that we can get this utility back up and operational because it does take care of about 15 to 20% of our village with that storm water. We need to make sure that that has positive flow as much as humanly possible, as quickly as possible," Collins said. WISN 12 News reporter Kendall Keys asked Collins if drivers or nearby residents should worry about the sinkhole growing or another sinkhole opening. "So at this time, no, we don't have any immediate concern as far as this growing. But that's all unknowns as of right now. So, as we go through this, we're going to have more of a direct idea as far as the extent of the magnitude. But we're working as fast as humanly possible in order to mitigate these measures," Collins said. Collins said the sinkhole opening draws attention to the village's aging infrastructure. "We're doing short term measures, and then there's more long-term repairs that are going to be necessary for this outfall because a lot of it is dating back to pre-1930 is when the village was constructed with these utilities. They're so far underground that they've been sitting for a very long time. So we need to look into that further," Collins said. Collins did not have a timeline for repairs, as village officials continue consulting with engineers and experts for recommendations. "We have not determined as far as our means and methods of what is going to be recommended from our engineering staff at this point," Collins said. "We will have to go down approximately 70 feet in order to gain access to that point of failure. So our issue is going to probably have a bigger footprint than what it is today just to gain access to the base of that manhole where this failure occurred."Temporary road closures and disruptions in park access are possible during the remediation efforts.
WHITEFISH BAY, Wis. —
A sinkhole swallowed up part of the sidewalk on a busy trail right near Lake Michigan.
The ground gave way around 9 a.m. Sunday morning near the entrance of Big Bay Park in Whitefish Bay. Officials say nobody was injured.
"It looks like it's the size of a car," Jeff Aikin, who lives nearby, said.
Workers put up a big metal fence Monday to keep onlookers a safe distance back from the sinkhole.
"I use that sidewalk every day," Aikin said. "I'm glad I wasn't standing there."
WISN 12 News spoke with nearby residents, all of whom remarked about how often they use the exact trail, now about 20 feet underground.
"I could not believe that that's where my husband and I walk every single day," Jane Collins said.
Matthew Collins, the director of Public Works for the Village of Whitefish Bay blames a 90-year-old storm sewer. A burst pipe underground caused everything above ground to give way.
"One of the major pipes that goes down 70 feet in the ground, it most likely collapsed, which created an erosion issue with that utility," Collins said.
Engineers worked on site all day Monday.
"Making sure that we can get this utility back up and operational because it does take care of about 15 to 20% of our village with that storm water. We need to make sure that that has positive flow as much as humanly possible, as quickly as possible," Collins said.
WISN 12 News reporter Kendall Keys asked Collins if drivers or nearby residents should worry about the sinkhole growing or another sinkhole opening.
"So at this time, no, we don't have any immediate concern as far as this growing. But that's all unknowns as of right now. So, as we go through this, we're going to have more of a direct idea as far as the extent of the magnitude. But we're working as fast as humanly possible in order to mitigate these measures," Collins said.
Collins said the sinkhole opening draws attention to the village's aging infrastructure.
"We're doing short term measures, and then there's more long-term repairs that are going to be necessary for this outfall because a lot of it is dating back to pre-1930 is when the village was constructed with these utilities. They're so far underground that they've been sitting for a very long time. So we need to look into that further," Collins said.
Collins did not have a timeline for repairs, as village officials continue consulting with engineers and experts for recommendations.
"We have not determined as far as our means and methods of what is going to be recommended from our engineering staff at this point," Collins said. "We will have to go down approximately 70 feet in order to gain access to that point of failure. So our issue is going to probably have a bigger footprint than what it is today just to gain access to the base of that manhole where this failure occurred."
Temporary road closures and disruptions in park access are possible during the remediation efforts.
Sinkhole forms at Whitefish Bay park
