Port Richmond sinkhole: Heat, water return for residents as street closed indefinitely
Heat, water return for residents after Port Richmond sinkhole
More than 32 hours after a large sinkhole opened in the middle of a Port Richmond street, residents have water and heat, but the street is closed indefinitely.
PORT RICHMOND - It’s been more than 24 hours since a large sinkhole opened up in a Port Richmond street and, while residents are glad to have their heat and hot water back, their street is anything but normal.
Birch Street is closed while crews work to repair the main and there is no timetable for a reopening of the street.
What we know:
A water main break in Port Richmond swallowed several cars after the street opened up because of the break Tuesday afternoon.
More than 24 hours later, the two cars swallowed in the hole have been removed and nearby residents have heat and water in their homes.
But, their street is closed.
Video: Massive sinkhole swallows vehicle in Port Richmond
Dangerous moments in Philadelphia’s Port Richmond neighborhood as a street opened up and several cars fell into the gaping hole after a water main break.
What they're saying:
"It was a disaster. I was like, ‘Oh no.’ I kept telling everyone I’m too old for this. I’m 76-years-old," Barbara Golden said.
As luck would have it, Golden was in her son’s home dog sitting while he left Tuesday to watch the Phillies in spring training.
Golden was there as the gaping hole opened up outside his home on the 2700 block of Birch Street, nearly taking his car inside the hole.
"It was difficult cause we didn’t have water and we didn’t have heat. Thank God it’s not the dead of winter, where you could be freezing in there," she stated. "I got through the night. I’m tired cause, of course, they were drilling all night."
The backstory:
It was frightening to watch as a neighbor’s SUV completely devoured by the sinkhole and her son’s car teetering on the edge, but both cars were eventually safely removed from the scene.
Water service was restored overnight to 30 properties after water department officials said a 6-inch main, installed in 1880, broke.
Golden remarked, "They’ve attached this to the water line, these hoses, to our stationary tubs and somehow that’s getting us water."
Dig deeper:
Jordan Williams lives across the street with her family and said the whole thing has been nerve wracking, "At first, I was worried it would take over. It's huge."
Birch Street is closed indefinitely between Salmon and Edgemont streets, adding to the traffic woes in the neighborhood.
Williams continued, "Parking is going to be a pain. It already was a pain and now you have all these houses that can’t park on this block."
What we don't know:
Folks on the street are definitely wondering and worried about when it’s all going to be fixed.
Williams said, "I don’t want it to fall behind and have weeks and weeks go by and no movement."
Golden agrees, "Who knows, this is gonna take forever the way it looks to me."
What's next:
A water department spokesperson tells FOX 29 that there is no timeline for repairs or street restoration.
They are still assessing the site and working to make it safe so repairs can then begin. There is no official determination on a cause of the cave-in.