Crews lift an empty semi tanker out of a large 20-foot-deep sinkhole near the intersection of Pecan Avenue and Granada Drive Monday afternoon. The driver sustained minor injuries. Residents are questioning whether the busy commercial road is safe to drive on. The incident is the second in the last week when the main sewer collector line collapsed.
By DJ Becker/The Madera News June 10th, 2024
A second, much larger sinkhole appeared Monday morning on West Pecan Avenue a few yards west of Granada Drive, as a semi-truck pulling double tankers drove east on West Pecan. The driver sustained minor injuries and was taken to a medical center due to complaints of pain.
The driver of the semi-truck said he had just picked up his regular load of liquid nitrogen fertilizer for delivery when his last tanker suddenly fell backward into a large, collapsing sinkhole. The cab of the semi-truck was jerked backward and briefly went airborne about 3 feet before slamming back onto the pavement, he said, bouncing and landing back on its wheels.
Personnel at the scene estimated the dimensions of the collapse to be approximately 15 by 20 feet in diameter, and 20 feet deep, easily large enough to bury a car or SUV. As of Monday midday, the approximately 5 million gallons of daily effluent or untreated wastewater collected from city households was still flowing through the sinkhole and out through the existing pipe towards the wastewater treatment plant, much to the relief of city workers. By Monday evening the sinkhole had grown to approximately 20 by 40 feet in diameter, they said.
Reduce Indoor Water Use Residents are again asked to try and reduce or limit unnecessary household water use due to the outflow to the sewer plant. Regular daily outflows could overwhelm the area where crews are again installing pumps and other lines to bypass the area of the break. According to city officials, this includes washing dishes, doing laundry, and taking long showers for a few days, until the break is stabilized. Drinking water is safe as it is supplied from the water tower and is a completely separate system. The outdoor use of sprinklers is fine, as it does not enter the sewer system, they said, unless the water flows into city drains.
Second Collapse in a Week A much smaller sinkhole in the deteriorating 50-year-old, seven-mile-long main sewer line out to the wastewater treatment plant appeared one week earlier on June 3rd when another section of the main sewer line spontaneously collapsed on West Pecan Avenue about a quarter mile west of the same area and intersection. The first incident of the collapse of the main trunk line, which runs under Pecan Avenue, occurred in the heavily traveled intersection in January of 2023 shutting down the major intersection for weeks.
Safety Concerns Bystanders at the scene wondered if the weight and vibration of the heavy, commercial truck traffic in the industrial area was a contributing factor in the multiple collapses of the old concrete sewer trunk line and if the road was still safe to continue to drive on.
A multi-million dollar repair and relining of the seven-mile-long sewer trunk line is out for bid and scheduled to begin in July or August, according to city officials.
Crews worked for 4 to 5 hours to drain and stabilize the trailer, before using two heavy-lift commercial tow trucks with cranes and an excavator to lift it from the large sinkhole. No other injuries were reported.
