Sinkhole repair disrupts traffic in University City

PHILADELPHIA - A sinkhole repair that has all but removed the intersection of 43rd and Baltimore Avenue in University City has everyone talking.

“Just an aggravation because you have to walk completely around them," Tanya Manigault told FOX 29.

A city water department contractor deepened and shored up the hole after the department was called out last Tuesday on a report of the basketball-sized depression in the street.

Turns out, a 10-foot section of sewer line made of brick and installed more than 100 years ago gave way and led to soil erosion and a huge, hidden hole.

“We actually looked under and saw that there was a void of about 20x 20 underground," Philadelphia Water Department spokesman John DiGiulio said.

The hole has detoured trolley traffic and left homeowners with ringing in the ears from a temporary sewer bypass pump. Businesses have also been impacted. The Clarkville restaurant is holding a sinkhole party.