Sinkhole on 15 Mile in Fraser forces evacuation in Detroit, USA

A row of homes were evacuated and a roadway closed early Saturday after a leaking sewer line caused the continued collapse of at least one home and portions of the street around it, authorities said.

 

The homes at the corner of 15 Mile Road and Eberlein Drive were most affected, and the unknown owner of the house at the corner called police when he felt his foundation move and his walls crack. Police closed 15 mile between Utica and Hayes as a precaution.

 

Every few minutes, bystanders could hear the home’s foundation as well as the roadway cracking. And the changes including a row of pine trees which a day ago lined perfectly together were now uneven and visible to the eyes.

 

“They noticed in the house cracking, loud banging from the walls,” said Lt. Mike Pettyes of the Fraser Police Department who had been on scene most of the day. “We evacuated the house, and it’s just been getting progressively worse.”

 

Pettyes said road crews know that there’s a leaking problem with the main sewer line that snakes under the homes and caused the foundation to crumble. At least two other homes on Eberlein were also evacuated as a precaution.

 

This isn’t the first time this area had a problem with a faulty sewer line cause damage to a street. In 2004, a 120-foot sinkhole on 15 Mile outside the Villa Fontana subdivision between Hayes and Moravian roads in nearby Sterling Heights caused power outages, road closures and evacuations.

 

The sewer line, about 40 feet underground, was owned by the Detroit water department.

 

Michelle Ward, 43, who lives a few housing developments away, heard about the sinking homes and street sinking on Facebook and came out to survey the damage.

 

“It’s Christmas Eve and you just feel bad for the families having to leave,” said Ward, 43. “Having to evacuate on Christmas and losing their house.

 

Pettyes said he wouldn’t be surprised if at least one of the residents, whom he wouldn’t name, lost his house.

 

“It’s a two-person family and he’s obviously upset about it,” he said.

 

Courtesy of detroitnews.com

 

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