The collapse of a 125-year-old sewer pipe caused a massive sinkhole along Anthony Boulevard this weekend and sent one woman to the hospital.
The road will likely remain closed between Lake Avenue and East Washington Boulevard until the end of the week while crews repair the brick pipe that carries both stormwater and sewage.
Motorists can use Clinton Street, Lafayette Street and Coliseum Boulevard to cross the river in the meantime.
Crews found that the sewer pipe, laid in 1884, had a 4-foot-by-5-foot hole. It will be replaced with a more modern pipe inside to patch the damage. However, that small hole triggered a sinkhole 12 feet wide by 15 feet deep, City Utilities spokesman Frank Suarez said.
Motorists called police about a large pothole in the southbound lanes of Anthony Boulevard just south of the Maumee River bridge late Sunday afternoon.
One woman was taken to Parkview Hospital complaining of neck pain after her car caught the southern edge of the hole and her air bags deployed. Police believe the road collapsed as the woman was driving over it, according to police reports.
The broken pipe is used mainly during times of heavy rain or melting snow.
Recent heavy rain may have weakened the brick structure. Although age may also have played a factor, the city monitors and maintains the pipes to prevent such problems, Suarez said.
About 20 miles of brick pipe crisscross beneath the streets of Fort Wayne and remain in use today. Most are found in the downtown area, he said.
