Mystery as giant sinkhole opens gaping chasms measuring SIX FEET deep across 500 feet of pavement on Arizona roadway
By Daily Mail Reporter and Associated Press Reporter
PUBLISHED: 00:00 EST, 22 February 2013 | UPDATED: 11:40 EST, 22 February 2013
A giant sinkhole opened on an Arizona road and ensnared two cars on Wednesday, leaving several gaping holes nearly six feet deep and closing the road indefinitely.
The Arizona Department of Transportation says the stretch of U.S. 89 in northern Arizona will remain closed indefinitely because of damage to the roadway about 25 miles south of Page. Two of the drivers ensnared by the sinkhole reported minor injuries.
While the agency is still trying to determine what exactly happened to cause the ground to shift beneath the road, the agency continues to assess the significant damage to the highway. Geotechnical engineers are currently evaluating the stability of the mountain slope on which the road sits.
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This photo shows the buckling of U.S. 89, about 25 miles south of Page, Arizona
The Arizona Department of Transportation is rerouting motorist off the heavily traveled highway between Arizona and Utah on to other roadways
‘This area encompasses close to 500 feet of damaged pavement, but we had the opportunity in the plane to circle the area twice and it looks like the settlement could be a lot larger,’ said Robert Samour, ADOT senior deputy state engineer of operations. ‘The area over the guardrail drops off a couple hundred feet; we saw some cracking in the soil down the slope, so I would say that this is probably a 500- to700-foot section that we’re going to have to take a good look at for settlement.’
There is no timetable to reopen the highway, which has over 150 feet of pavement that buckled approximately four to six feet.
Arizona highway buckles due to ‘geologic event’
Ariz. – A ‘geologic event’ closed a northern Arizona highway Wednesday, after a 150-foot section of pavement buckled.
U.S. 89 in northern Arizona is closed in both directions about 25 miles south of Page.
Residents in the area reported what they thought was an earthquake Wednesday morning, but geologists say it was a landslide. The Arizona Department of Transportation says the buckling was not related to the weather.
The call came in around 4:30 a.m. There were a few minor accidents as a result.
“There’s three lanes, there’s a passing lane, the passing lane going up is the one that dropped, and the whole section to the west of that is also down,” said Jason Yazzie, Navajo Division of Transportation.
Pavement buckles, closes US 89 south of Page
Posted: Feb 20, 2013 7:28 AM CST Updated: Feb 20, 2013 12:52 PM CST
A 150-foot section of U.S. 89 south of Page that buckled and sunk four feet Wednesday might have been caused by a “geologic event,” according to the Arizona Department of Transportation.
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Did ‘geologic event’ buckle US 89?
A stretch of U.S. 89 in northern Arizona will remain closed indefinitely because of damage to the roadway about 25 miles south of PageMore >
The road collapsed at mile post 526 just 2.5 miles north of the intersection with U.S. 89A, about 25 miles south of page, according to an ADOT spokesman. He said the incident was not related to the weather.
The road was closed in both directions and there was no estimation when the highway would reopen, said an ADOT spokesman.
Related articles
- U.S. 89 south of Page will remain closed indefinitely (azfamily.com)
- Update: Highway-89 sinkhole in Arizona is 150-feet wide, 5-feet deep, more sinkholes possible (sott.net)
- Arizona highway buckles due to ‘geologic event’ (ireport.cnn.com)
- 15. Huge Sinkhole Opens on U.S. 89 in Arizona ! Geologic Event in Arizona 2013 ! (12160.info)
- Landslide – State of Arizona, [About 25 miles south of Paige] : A deep, 150-foot-long crack in Highway 89 occurred this morning about 25 miles south of Page, and it’s unknown when the road might be repaired. (familysurvivalprotocol.com)
- ‘Geologic event’ closes U.S. 89 in Arizona (lunaticoutpost.com)
- crust weakening, slipping, and collapsing across the planet (vineoflife.net)
- The Great Collapse: crust weakening, slipping, and collapsing across the planet (countdowntoeternityblog.wordpress.com)
- ALERT: The Great Collapse: crust weakening, slipping, and collapsing across the planet (legionbegone.wordpress.com)
“A geological event” well now…I’m really glad they cleared that I up. I thought it was an atmospheric event or maybe an oceanic event at first..!
Sorry – the way gov’t agencies address things really gets me. It’s funny, sad and sometimes really frustrating the way they use such useless statements of non-information to ‘explain’ things.
LOL, well I think they understand now that they can’t just give us any explanation they want , anymore. After being burned on the excuses they gave for the exploding manholes on the east coast and the birds dropping dead all over t he roads throughout central United States.
They have no recourse but to at least approximate a logical answer or it will be picked apart and questioned
Reblogged this on Rashid's Blog.