Go to Google
News

4-Lane Road Buckles, Sinks in San Diego

By ALLISON HOFFMAN – 17 hours ago

SAN DIEGO (AP) — A four-lane road buckled Wednesday and sank slowly in
a hilly upscale neighborhood, threatening several homes. No injuries were
reported.

Power lines fell and at least four homes were evacuated, said Maurice
Luque, a spokesman for the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department. Gas and power
supplies were shut off.

The collapse shortly before 9 a.m. left a ravine of crumpled pavement.
Orange traffic cones and sections of big concrete pipes sat in the fissure
slashing across the wide boulevard.

One home began to collapse, and at least seven other houses were in
danger of being damaged, according to Gary Hassen, a police spokesman.
There were other homes at the bottom of the hill.

The sinkhole in the La Jolla neighborhood of million-dollar homes cut
in a cone shape and was about 50 yards long.

About two hours about two hours after the collapse the situation
appeared stable, City Attorney Michael Aguirre said.

Street cracking began on Soledad Mountain Road in July and escalated in
August, along with breaks in water and gas lines, the The San Diego
Union-Tribune reported.

City officials said Monday they were moving quickly to prevent
catastrophic loss. They sent letters two weeks ago to alert residents and
began knocking on doors Monday.

At least three significant hill slides have occurred in the area
between 1961 and 1994, including a major failure in 1961 that destroyed
seven homes under construction.

Hosted by

Copyright © 2007 The Associated Press. All rights
reserved.