Massive sinkhole swallows cars, shuts down water service in Eastlake

Seattle emergency crews scrambled for hours Wednesday morning to shut down a broken water main that gushed water and mud into Portage Bay and caused a massive sinkhole near the University Bridge that swallowed two cars.

A minivan landed on a gas pipeline and both were on top of the broken main, making the accident more difficult to control, authorities said. They added that it could take up to 30 hours before the water system would be back to normal.

Seattle city officials said the water main was installed in 1912.

About 30 customers in Eastlake are without water. Most neighbors experienced low-water pressure and discolored water since the collapse. And morning street traffic was backed up to downtown and toward Northgate.

University Bridge was closed. Portage Bay Place East, which fronts the water, had collapsed, said Gregg Hirakawa, a city Department of Transportation spokesman. But crews checked the foundation of the bridge and it appeared to be strong.

The 10-foot-deep sinkhole was reported shortly after 7:30 a.m. and is about 20 feet wide, police spokesman Sean Whitcomb said. The area of the hole, directly under the south approach to the bridge, is a regular parking spot for Eastlake residents.

John Hutchins of Harbor Consulting Engineers, who performed an emergency inspection of the 24-inch main Wednesday morning, said that a tension break was from a crack 16 feet along the length of the cast iron pipe.

Police harbor officers moved boats and redirected marine traffic out of the area. Officers and firefighters also were concerned about possible natural gas leaks because of pipelines in the area.

The main that broke was next to another, much larger water pipe, but that pipe appears to be fine, said Colleen Schlonga of Seattle Public Utilities.

"This was a very different situation than last week's break," said Mayor Greg Nickels, who was at the scene Wednesday morning. He said this break was not due to construction as was the break last week closer to downtown.

On April 25, a construction crew breaking up the street at Dexter Avenue North and Harrison Street for a repaving job hit a water main and flooded businesses on Lower Queen Anne and in the Denny Triangle. Between 1.3 million and 1.5 million gallons of water spilled onto streets.

The collapsed Eastlake road is the only one leading to many homes along Portage Bay.

Kay VanDyke, who lives in a floating home, said she called her boss to tell him she'd be late for work. Her friend, Pam Campbell, has lived on Portage Bay Place since 1981, and said she has never seen a spill or mudslide so large.

"We're all stuck down here. We can't get our cars out. It looks like it's going to be for a while," Campbell said.

Wendy Freitag, who also lives in a floating home on Portage Bay, said she noticed discolored water while running a bath Tuesday night.

Freitag said she is concerned about emergency issues for many elderly residents of the area. But she and her husband have supplies to hunker down for awhile.

"We live in a landslide area and you have to be prepared," she said.