Sunset Boulevard sinkhole larger than first apparent; ongoing road closure

ST. GEORGE – sinkhole that appeared on Sunset Boulevard in St. George late Friday night is larger than was at first apparent.

“The concrete was suspended,” Mike Dalton, superintendent of Desert Hills Construction, said. “As soon as I broke the concrete, the hole caved in.”

Crews work to clean out a sinkhole on Sunset Boulevard, St. George, Utah, Sept. 20, 2014 | Photo by Joyce Kuzmanic, St. George News
Crews work to clean out a sinkhole on Sunset Boulevard, St. George, Utah, Sept. 20, 2014 | Photo by Joyce Kuzmanic, St. George News

The surface of the sinkhole that was visible Friday night was only one-third the size of the actual hole, Dalton said; the sinkhole is actually about 25 feet in diameter and 14 feet deep.

Dalton and his crew are currently at the site where the sinkhole appeared, on the eastbound side of Sunset Boulevard between Valley View Drive and Bluff Street, and are attempting to clean out the hole so they can begin exploring solutions.

Dalton said the problem started with a corroded culvert pipe.

One eastbound lane on Sunset Boulevard, between Valley View Drive and Bluff Street, remains closed while crews work at the sinkhole site. Early estimates from the City of St. George said repair time would be about five days, but that estimate may change once Dalton and his crew have finished assessing the problem.

The sinkhole first appeared Friday night at about 10 p.m., extending from beneath the sidewalk and out into Sunset Boulevard. The front tire of a fuel tanker attempting to leave the Texaco gas station at the Valley View Drive/Sunset Boulevard intersection became stuck in the sinkhole. The driver of the tanker was not injured.

Commuters traveling eastbound on Sunset Boulevard toward Bluff Street should expect delays and are advised to use an alternate route, if possible.

Senior Reporter Mori Kessler and Assistant Editor Cami Cox Jim contributed to this report.

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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2014, all rights reserved.

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1 Comment

  • Jason D. Patt September 22, 2014 at 4:01 pm

    .if Saint George Utah,could properly builds roads,housesand build the canals better,we might be actually a okay..but then again we are talking about southern Utah

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