Water main break leads to street collapse

Randallstown, Md. - When the eight-inch main burst, it sent a torrent of water down Lucerne Road in Randallstown.
 
"A river... the water was all up over the sidewalk and everything, and she said I don't think you’re going to be moving your car anywhere," said Royn James who has lived in the neighborhood for 45 years.

That’s because the current of water carried tons of mud with it.
 
"We just heard a big, 'Whoosh!' and the hole just appeared you know," said Viola Rozzell, who was standing in her front yard when workers cut off the water and a portion of the road collapsed, "It was a big sink hole filled with water and I was afraid some children might fall in, because a lot of people were coming and stopping... looking into it and didn't know it the soft ground was around there."
    
The hole even undermined large portions of the curb.

The Department of Public Works blocked off the road, and work continues to remove the rubble and to make the necessary repairs on the main, which serves 60 homes in the Randallstown neighborhood.

"I had drinking water and I used that for coffee, and as you see, I'm not going to work today,” said Rozzell, “I can't go... no shower or anything like that.  So I'm just watching them fill the hole."
    
As for the 20-foot wide, 12-foot deep hole, residents say they’re just thankful no one was hurt when the street caved in.
 
"We just kept watching it getting bigger and bigger and bigger,” said Rozzell, “Thank goodness no car was there, because normally there is a car parked there."

A Public Works spokesman says barring any major problems, they think they can fix the main, fill the hole and restore the service some time tonight.