Parts of Interstates 70 and 44 near downtown St. Louis are closed as workers try to address a massive cave-in that opened up at Broadway and Biddle streets just north of the Dome at America’s Center.
Late Friday, officials at the water division learned of a water main break at the intersection, said Robert Achisson, public information officer for the division. A 20-inch main broke, and the ensuing ground collapse damaged two smaller water mains.
The resulting hole under an elevated part of Interstate 44/70 stretches approximately 30 feet in diameter and 15 feet deep, an opening big enough to fit a small St. Louis city bus.
The St. Louis Metropolitan Police, the Missouri Department of Transportation and the city’s streets department closed eastbound Interstate I-70 at Tucker. I-44 will also be shut down and traffic will be directed to the Poplar Street Bridge.
Sunday morning, MoDOT announced the interstate will likely remain closed “through at least next week.” The agency says the hole exposed one of the bridge footings and they are concerned for the safety of drivers.
City of St. Louis Joint Information Center
Parts of Interstate 44/70 are closed downtown until further notice, officials said.
As of Saturday afternoon, small clumps of earth were still crumpling into the cavern. Water continued to flow from at least two pipes, and the sound of water echoed off the underside of the freeway.
Drivers exiting the highway rubbernecked at the stoplight on Biddle. Some took pictures out their windows.
Crews on Saturday were shutting off valves to try to isolate the break, Achisson said.
“The site is turning out to be much more challenging than first anticipated, as infrastructure issues are causing difficulty in slowing the water flow,” he said in an email. “In order to address that, some customers will now be experiencing a loss of service.”
St. Louis is no stranger to large cave-ins and sinkholes. The Go! St. Louis Marathon last year was forced to change its route after two large holes opened up, taking parts of the road with them. An even bigger cave-in in Alton happened when a mine below a soccer field collapsed, creating an approximately 100-foot chasm.
While most people refer to the occurrences as “sinkholes,” many of the holes are technically cave-ins. Sinkholes are natural occurrences from rainwater or underwater streams. Cave-ins refer to collapses due to failures of pipes and other man-made structures.
