The work to fix the sinkhole that opened up on Father Hurley Boulevard in Germantown, Maryland, continued Tuesday despite occasional downpours.
The work to fix the flood-damaged section of Father Hurley Boulevard between Crystal Rock Drive and Middlebrook Road in Germantown, Maryland, continued July 24 despite occasional downpours.
(WTOP/Dave Dildine)
WTOP/Dave Dildine
A rusted culvert failed late July 21, allowing the runoff from heavy weekend rains to erode the berm underneath the road.
(WTOP/Dave Dildine)
WTOP/Dave Dildine
A rusted culvert failed late July 21, allowing the runoff from heavy weekend rains to erode the berm underneath the road.
(WTOP/Dave Dildine)
WTOP/Dave Dildine
The work to fix the flood-damaged section of Father Hurley Boulevard between Crystal Rock Drive and Middlebrook Road near Waters Landing Drive continued July 24.
(WTOP/Dave Dildine)
WTOP/Dave Dildine
The sinkhole has caused traffic headaches for some drivers in Germantown, Maryland.
(WTOP/Dave Dildine)
WTOP/Dave Dildine
The sinkhole was caused by a pipe that was designed to take rainwater to a nearby creek failing due to rust.
(WTOP/Ralph Fox)
WTOP/Ralph Fox
Repair workers first filled the hole with rock.
(WTOP/Ralph Fox)
GERMANTOWN, Md. — This week’s rain has kept road and utility crews busy, especially in Germantown where a sinkhole opened up over the weekend. Crews are making progress repairing the damage but the weather isn’t helping.
The work to fix the flood-damaged section of Father Hurley Boulevard between Crystal Rock Drive and Middlebrook Road near Waters Landing Drive continued Tuesday despite occasional downpours.
“A lot of work is going on,” said Bruce Johnston, chief of the division of transportation engineering for the Montgomery County Department of Transportation. “They are patching the surface of the gravel. That was placed into the sinkhole on Sunday,”
A rusted culvert failed late Saturday, allowing the runoff from heavy weekend rains to erode the berm underneath the road.
“We are closing off the existing pipe because we want to prevent the opportunity for any more sinkholes to develop. We’re providing temporary workarounds for the drainage to take it over to another drainage area and that will be ongoing until the permanent pipe is replaced,” Johnston said.
In the coming days, crews will drill down to the defunct pipe and then pump a lean concrete into the open space to fill it.
Subsequent tropical downpours haven’t beset crews too much, but progress is slowed each time the skies open up.
“We were originally looking to open the road by the end of this week by Friday. My hunch is [that] the weather is probably going to push it into early next week,” Johnston said.
The permanent solution for stormwater underneath Father Hurley Boulevard is expected to be completed in the coming months.
A native to the Washington area, Dave Dildine is no stranger to the region's complex traffic and weather patterns. Dave joined WTOP in 2010 when the station launched its very own in-house traffic service. You can hear him "on the 8s and when it breaks" from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays.
