Philadelphia residents get help with sinkhole repair after 6 months

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- The Action News Troubleshooters tackled a neighborhood's months-long quest to get a giant sinkhole repaired.

Boudinot Street is a narrow one-way street in Philadelphia's Feltonville neighborhood. Back in June, a sinkhole opened up, making it impossible for cars to get through, causing frustration and anxiety among homeowners.

"It's a sore eye for me. It's disgusting to me. I don't even like being out here no more," said Doris Walker.

Walker is talking about a giant sinkhole in the middle of her street.

"It's just a mess," she says.

"We've had the sinkhole now for at least six months now," said Robert Edelmann.

In January, residents told the Troubleshooters they had major safety concerns.

"Very concerned, especially for kids because they're jumping up and down in this and making it worse. And you can see the hole's getting bigger," said Edelmann.

Delivery trucks and emergency vehicles also couldn't get through.

"I feel very frustrated about the situation because they seem like they not doing well. They really not doing anything about it. We're not important," said Walker.

Walker and Edelmann told us they called the city multiple times. But while the Philadelphia Water Department eventually covered up the sinkhole in June, it has yet to finally fill the hole and fix the street.

"This is intolerable," said Edelmann.

The Troubleshooters went to work contacting the Water Department on January 12, and literally hours later, according to a text message from Edelmann, a crew showed up and got to work.

PWD tells the Troubleshooters: "The required repairs on Boudinot Street were delayed by infrastructure issues that made it challenging to identify the cause of the cave-in. We appreciate the patience of the residents on the block as we worked to resolve issues with the sewer. We regret the cause was not identified and remedied sooner."

"We can get our groceries, we can have emergency vehicles come down and we could park more normally," said Edelmann.

When the Troubleshooters went back to Boudinot Street at the end of January, we were pleased to see the hole fixed, the barrier gone and cars getting through once again.

"And we don't have to worry about the kids falling in the hole anymore," said Edelmann.

And if you have an issue you need the Troubleshooters' help resolving, you can reach out to our Call for Action hotline. The number is 1-866-978-4232. The hotline is open Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m.

Philadelphia Water Department Statement:

"The required repairs on Boudinot Street were delayed by infrastructure issues that made it challenging to identify the cause of the cave-in outside of 5026 Boudinot.

After the initial report of street issues on June 28, an investigation revealed that the century-old clay pipe sewer on this block did not have a manhole access that would allow inspection and maintenance.

The Water Department, through its emergency contractor, completed the construction of a new access point for the block's sewer on September 1. Once that was complete, crews were able to clean and flush the sewer and conducted a camera investigation that week.

That investigation determined the cave-in was caused by a defect on a private sewer lateral connecting to the public sewer in the street. A Notice of Defect was issued to the property owner, requiring them to repair the pipe before the street could be restored.

In subsequent inspections of the site to determine if the defect had been repaired, it was discovered that a failure within the public sewer created the street conditions.

Once this was determined, repairs were completed in January and the roadway is now ready to be restored.

We appreciate the patience of the residents on the block as we worked to resolve issues with the sewer. We regret the cause was not identified and remedied sooner."