Holes may have sunk part of Florida's Turnpike, but at least they haven't sunk Monday's morning commute.
Emergency repairs concluded around 10 a.m. Sunday to fix two large holes that developed on the southbound turnpike near Northwest 199th Street and Hard Rock Stadium. Florida Department of Transportation officials say a broken water line caused initial depressions in the roadway to develop around 1 p.m. Saturday.
Florida troopers who saw the holes were developing reported the issue, and the southbound turnpike was closed. Crews from FDOT and Miami-Dade County worked through the night to complete the repairs, according to an FDOT press release.
There have been no reports of injuries or damage to vehicles because of the holes, according to the Miami Herald.
Jennifer Messemer, a spokeswoman for the Miami-Dade County Water and Sewer Department, said the 10-inch pipe that broke had been evaluated within the past nine to 12 months.
"A pipe can be evaluated and deemed fine one day," she said. "Unfortunately, just by where a pipe is located, maybe due to age, maybe just due to the external forces around it, the additional pressure of where it's serving -- all of these are contributing factors."
The 10-inch pipe that leaked and caused the holes was installed in 1960, Messemer said.
Chad Huff, an FDOT spokesman who's been with the department for 14 years, said this is the first time he's heard of holes opening from water leaks under the turnpike.
"In recent memory, I haven't been aware of anything like this," he said.
Messemer said the Water and Sewer Department will use acoustic equipment to continue monitoring the pipe that broke -- and the other 8,200 miles of water lines in the department's jurisdiction.
