Crews working to fix Altoona road after waterline break causes sinkhole

ALTOONA, Pa. (WTAJ)– Crews are working to repair 12th Avenue between 3rd and 4th Streets in the Juniata Section of Altoona after a waterline break led to a sinkhole in the road.

Interim City Director of Operations Kevin Bechtel said the ten-inch steel waterline broke Sunday morning around 11. Bechtel said the break was most likely caused by the ground shifting due to the dry and hot conditions the area has been experiencing.

“822,000 gallons of water lost,” Bechtel said. “It washed a lot of debris and rock out from under the road which is causing some of the sinkholes and raises in the roadway that you see.”

Gregory Griffin’s home is right beside the sinkhole. He and his neighbors have been parking their cars at the end of the block while the construction is going on.

“My neighbor called my wife on the phone on Sunday and said to look outside,” Griffin said. “She looked outside and it was a river, the whole road was covered.”

Crews have already begun excavating part of the road. Bechtel says he isn’t exactly sure what the timeline will be but is optimistic that it shouldn’t take too long to get repaired.

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“The pavement has probably dropped in certain locations by about 3 feet,” Bechtel said. “It has also been raised probably by about three feet. “In talking with the water department, they think it is going to be a couple of days until they can get all of the excavation done. They’ll get the subbase packed in and then if we decide to do the road restoration as far as pavement it could be another couple of days.”

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