Repairs Underway at 124th & Wentworth after Road Collapses

Lee Edwards | As of Wednesday, December 4, 2013

The City's infrastructure might have played a significant role in the "wash out" (a sudden erosion of soft soil or other support surfaces by a gush of water) at 124th and Wentworth Ave. which caused the road to collapse creating a large sink hole, because most of its underground pipes and water systems are at or over 100 years old.
The City's infrastructure might have played a significant role in the "wash out" (a sudden erosion of soft soil or other support surfaces by a gush of water) at 124th and Wentworth Ave. which caused the road to collapse creating a large sink hole, because most of its underground pipes and water systems are at or over 100 years old. Photo by Lee Edwards.

The City of Chicago is actively working to repair the street at 124th and Wentworth Ave. after a "wash out" (a sudden erosion of soft soil or other support surfaces by a gush of water) caused the road to collapse creating a large sink hole.

“Water was shooting up; it was flooding out here at first. The water was over the curb, so high it was like you could go fishing out here. Next thing you know, the ground caved in like the sides of a corner, it started rumbling, then the whole street caved in,” said Tarius Peeple, who lives across the street from the crater.

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Photo by: Lee Edwards

Residents from the 124th to 125th and Wentworth have had to boil their water to ensure its safety ever since a "wash out" (a sudden erosion of soft soil or other support surfaces by a gush of water) caused the road to collapse creating a large sink hole nearby. The collapse occurred early on the morning of November 11 in the West Pullman community.

The collapse occurred early on the morning of November 11 in the West Pullman community.

"This was a wash out because apparently the service pipe that serves individual houses on the block leaked and that undermined the dirt beneath the street. It washed it out enough that the water main broke and once the water main broke, the sewer somewhere along there was broken. It simply washed out so much of the soil that the street collapsed because it had nothing holding it up,” Tom LaPorte, City of Chicago Water Department Public Information Officer, explained to the Chicago Citizen Newspaper.

Also, according to LaPorte and 9th Ward Alderman Anthony Beale, the City's infrastructure might have played a significant role in the wash out because most of its underground pipes and water systems are at or over 100 years old.

“More than a quarter of our sewer and water system is over 100 years old. You expect about 100 year life for a pipe,” said LaPorte.

“We’re replacing sewers every day in the City of Chicago and also in the 9th ward,” said Beale. “We have an old infrastructure, we’re identifying every day which sewers and water mains are the oldest and we are trying to repair those as fast as possible and we’ve been aggressively doing that throughout the entire city.”

Neither LaPorte nor Beale were able to offer a time-table as to when the road work would be completed or how much it will cost.

In the interim, residents from the 124th to 125th and Wentworth Ave. have had to boil their water to ensure its safety.

The Department of Water Management is responsible for delivering close to 1 billion gallons of fresh pure water to the residents of Chicago and 125 suburban communities everyday. They are also responsible for removing the waste water and storm runoff from the streets of Chicago, via our sewer system and delivering the effluent for treatment to the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago. For additional information contact the Chicago's Water Management department at: 312.744.4420.

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