Sinking feeling Crews called out to repair hole on West Bank Street

Published 12:00 am Thursday, January 24, 2013

An 18-inch deep sink hole in the middle of the 1200 block of West Bank Street may not have, “swallowed a car,” as heard on emergency scanner traffic, but it did require a city crew to patch it.

The sinkhole, which measured 2 feet by 3 feet, was in the middle of the road in front of a 1217 West Bank Street home.

Just after 4:15 p.m., a Salisbury Police officer was flagged by a motorist and parked his patrol vehicle in the middle of the road. The officer alerted motorists to move over slightly to either side of the road, around the hole.

“We are repairing it. We have a truck of gravel in as we speak,” Mike West told a Post reporter.

West, a maintenance manager with the Salisbury City Public Services Department, said a crew would pack gravel into the hole and return Thursday to place an asphalt patch.

The void under the street looks as though it’s been there for some time, West said.

He said there’s no evidence the immediate area had been patched or repairs had been made there recently.

“There are no hazards to traffic. There will be a minor interruption to the final patch,” he said.

At this time, West said, the crew is unable to determine what may have caused the sinkhole.