Sinkhole swallows SUV in Albany
Laura sent along this pic of the sinkhole at South Lake Ave and Elberon Place in Albany that swallowed an SUV this morning. The spot is just uptown of the western end of Washington Park. (See also: Video clips from the scene by J. P. Lawrence and Kari Beal.)
The Albany Water Department reported that there is a major water main break at the site. From a city press release: "Customers should be aware that they will be experiencing lower water pressure. The Water Department is asking that Albany residents try to conserve water until repairs are made."
A handful of history-minded people were noting this morning that the sink hole is in the path of the Beaverkill, one of the major streams that once flowed through the city. It was buried underground decades ago as development stretched to the west.
Update: After the jump there's an embedded video showing the scene from above -- it shows the scale of the hole with the SUV in it and the water main gushing water.
This video was posted on the Albany Permanent Professional Firefighters Association Local 2007 Facebook page this morning:
(Thanks, Laura)
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Comments
So the city is giving free car washes?!? No wonder they're in debt...
... said ace on Aug 2, 2016 at 12:47 PM | link
Wow! I hope no one was hurt!
... said Cara on Aug 2, 2016 at 1:18 PM | link
Pretty scary. It definitely got worse in a short time, too. The photo above was from just before 9 on my way to work (they hadnt yet closed Elberon Pl) and the hole was limited to just one side of the road. Not too long after, the car was all the way in. Yipes!
... said Laura M. on Aug 2, 2016 at 2:13 PM | link
Woah! Street collapses in Albany are pretty frequent, but this is insane.
... said Eric Scheirer stott on Aug 2, 2016 at 2:28 PM | link
Cleanest car in all of albany.. And its free!
... said Lint on Aug 2, 2016 at 8:11 PM | link
Gofundme page here, to help the student whose car was swallowed: https://www.gofundme.com/SP89-AMC
... said Laura M. on Aug 8, 2016 at 9:44 AM | link