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Sinkhole closes I-5 northbound at CA 132

Started by Kniwt, May 31, 2016, 11:15:56 PM

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Kniwt

KCRA reports (with video at link):
http://www.kcra.com/news/local-news/news-stockton/all-lanes-of-nb-i5-in-san-joaquin-co-shut-down-due-to-sink-hole/39812098

QuoteAll lanes of northbound Interstate 5 in San Joaquin County are shut down Tuesday due to a sink hole in the road, according to California Highway Patrol.

The interstate is shut down at the Highway 132 offramp, and traffic is being diverted onto northbound Highway 33 and back onto northbound I-5.

The closure began about noon and is estimated to last until sometime Thursday afternoon, officials said.

First report from CHP incident log:
QuoteMay 31 2016 6:16AM [1] SINK HOLE ON THE RHS - 1 FT IN DIAMETER , CANT SEE THE BOTTOM



Max Rockatansky

99 is going to get even more busy now...at least it held out until today instead of Memorial Day weekend.

rschen7754

This is odd. They can't put down some temporary pavement and use one of the southbound lanes? Or would that take too long to set up?

Max Rockatansky

That or really it's not worth setting up with all the detour options around Tracy.  You got CA 33 which basically is a really short detour off of 132 to get around.  Personally I would probably just take I-580 and I-205 to get back to I-5 because most people are going to pile onto the shorter detour which will back up. 

cheungd

You can't directly transition from WB 580 to EB 205.

Max Rockatansky

Quote from: cheungd on June 01, 2016, 10:08:15 AM
You can't directly transition from WB 580 to EB 205.

That's right...God you can tell how much I really like going to the Bay Area.   Even still jumping off an exit somewhere and back tracking to 205 probably is going to save time still.  Mountain House Parkway looks like a direct shot between 580 and 205.

cheungd

KCRA is now reporting that southbound lanes are closed as well to conduct inspections.

mcarling

Does anyone know what they use to fill sinkholes?  Gravel?  Crushed concrete?  Or?
US 97 should be 2x2 all the way from Yakima, WA to Klamath Falls, OR.

sparker

According to the Sacramento Bee, the sinkhole was caused by the collapse of an old irrigation pipe under the roadway.  Both directions of I-5 are closed for the next several days until they can do infill. 

Max Rockatansky

Quote from: sparker on June 02, 2016, 07:43:14 PM
According to the Sacramento Bee, the sinkhole was caused by the collapse of an old irrigation pipe under the roadway.  Both directions of I-5 are closed for the next several days until they can do infill.

Better safe than sorry...hell at least it's not what happened to US 89 out in Arizona with the grade to Page falling in....or something like this would take weeks or more to fix in a state like Florida because of the limestone.

sparker

KXTV-10 News (Sacramento) reported that both northbound lanes of I-5 were re-opened to traffic Saturday evening (6/4); the southbound lanes were re-opened the following morning (Sunday 6/5).  The long-abandoned irrigation culvert that was the culprit in this incident was approximately 35 feet below grade and was three feet in diameter.  Apparently it was in use until about 1976 or so (five years after this section of I-5 was opened to traffic) but had subsequently deteriorated  until collapsing last week. 

Max Rockatansky

Quote from: sparker on June 06, 2016, 08:42:21 PM
KXTV-10 News (Sacramento) reported that both northbound lanes of I-5 were re-opened to traffic Saturday evening (6/4); the southbound lanes were re-opened the following morning (Sunday 6/5).  The long-abandoned irrigation culvert that was the culprit in this incident was approximately 35 feet below grade and was three feet in diameter.  Apparently it was in use until about 1976 or so (five years after this section of I-5 was opened to traffic) but had subsequently deteriorated  until collapsing last week.

So basically it was forgotten and nobody once noticed? 

jakeroot

Quote from: Max Rockatansky on June 07, 2016, 11:10:37 PM
Quote from: sparker on June 06, 2016, 08:42:21 PM
KXTV-10 News (Sacramento) reported that both northbound lanes of I-5 were re-opened to traffic Saturday evening (6/4); the southbound lanes were re-opened the following morning (Sunday 6/5).  The long-abandoned irrigation culvert that was the culprit in this incident was approximately 35 feet below grade and was three feet in diameter.  Apparently it was in use until about 1976 or so (five years after this section of I-5 was opened to traffic) but had subsequently deteriorated  until collapsing last week.

So basically it was forgotten and nobody once noticed?

That basically sums up most unexpected incidents like this. Something goes unnoticed longer than it should...followed by catastrophe. Best example I can think of off the top of my head is the supposed pipe that Seattle's Bertha ran into. Old unused pipe, cutterhead couldn't cut it, nobody noticed it beforehand, project delayed a whole year, etc, etc.

Max Rockatansky

Quote from: jakeroot on June 08, 2016, 01:00:25 AM
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on June 07, 2016, 11:10:37 PM
Quote from: sparker on June 06, 2016, 08:42:21 PM
KXTV-10 News (Sacramento) reported that both northbound lanes of I-5 were re-opened to traffic Saturday evening (6/4); the southbound lanes were re-opened the following morning (Sunday 6/5).  The long-abandoned irrigation culvert that was the culprit in this incident was approximately 35 feet below grade and was three feet in diameter.  Apparently it was in use until about 1976 or so (five years after this section of I-5 was opened to traffic) but had subsequently deteriorated  until collapsing last week.

So basically it was forgotten and nobody once noticed?

That basically sums up most unexpected incidents like this. Something goes unnoticed longer than it should...followed by catastrophe. Best example I can think of off the top of my head is the supposed pipe that Seattle's Bertha ran into. Old unused pipe, cutterhead couldn't cut it, nobody noticed it beforehand, project delayed a whole year, etc, etc.

If this would have been 2 years ago there would be panic on the national news about sink holes, the cause would have been assumed to be much worse.  :-D  It's mildly amusing how little weight this story got outside of boards like this with a major Interstate being shut down.

myosh_tino

Quote from: Max Rockatansky on June 08, 2016, 08:01:39 AM
If this would have been 2 years ago there would be panic on the national news about sink holes, the cause would have been assumed to be much worse.  :-D  It's mildly amusing how little weight this story got outside of boards like this with a major Interstate being shut down.

That may have been the case down in SoCal but the closure did get some local TV coverage up here in the S.F. Bay Area.  Had the sinkhole been about 10 miles further north, say between CA-120 and I-205, it would have garnered some serious attention as the impact to the S.F. Bay Area would have been far greater (central valley cut off from Bay Area, no good alternates, etc).
Quote from: golden eagle
If I owned a dam and decided to donate it to charity, would I be giving a dam? I'm sure that might be a first because no one really gives a dam.

sparker

That particular stretch of I-5, between 580 and 205, is a bit different than the rest of the alignment in or along the Valley.  South of the 580 merge, it sits up on an alluvial rise above the Valley floor, so agricultural artifacts have a minimal effect on roadway condition or status.  North of the 205 junction, it more or less sits atop old US 50 until just south of Stockton, so it is likely any waterworks have been long mitigated.  But the intervening section -- including the site of the sinkhole -- sits atop what remains working farmland; the Division of Highways (lead agency at the time) laid out I-5 on what appears to be the shortest distance between two points, essentially heading due south from where it diverges from Business 205 east of Tracy; this necessitated the taking of a portion of these working agricultural facilities.  It is more likely than not that there were and are multiple examples of agricultural infrastructure within I-5's easement through this area -- which calls into question the extent & thoroughness of the Division's preparation process prior to the actual construction of this route segment -- at least circa the late '60's.  Perhaps they calculated/"guesstimated" that a pipe (so far the type of piping -- clay, corrugated metal, etc. -- hasn't entered into the reportage of the incident) located 35 feet underground wouldn't be of particular concern; obviously, time would prove such an assumption faulty!  Were I the lead engineer of that particular Caltrans district, I'd be examining any & all available documentation to see if similar structures might be impinging on the alignment elsewhere along that I-5 stretch.   



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