Artesia News

Heavy Rains Bring Sinkholes to Artesia


Record breaking rainfall has caused at least two sinkholes in Artesia, the largest of which, located at the corner of 183rd and Ibex, spanned ten feet wide.

While touring the city on April 1, Public Works employees noticed a sink hole beginning to form on the northwest corner of Ibex and 183rd St. Later that afternoon, the hole had increased in size and was seen to be a traffic hazard. Public works filled the hole with “base material” and “temporary asphalt”, and then reopened the lane to traffic, said Chuck Burkhardt, public works consultant for the city.

Unfortunately, the hole again started increasing in size later that evening, leaving no option but to close the lane again and start an investigation. Public Works contacted L.A. County Flood, L.A. County Sanitation, Southern California Water, and Verizon, all of which had utilities in the area. Burkhardt said that on the second day investigations, it was determined that the storm drain, consisting of non-reinforced concrete pipe had collapsed due to age and the experience of handling more water than it has ever had to at one time in its life. Burkhardt estimates the storm drain to be 40 to 50 years old.

L.A. County Flood Control was responsible for this particular storm drain, and began excavating and working through the weekend.

“This is a serious and extensive repair that will take several weeks to complete,” explained Burkhardt.

Another sinkhole developed in the alley between Elaine and Devlin. L.A. County Sanitation brought a crew in and repaired the failure within a week. Burkhardt attributed this sinkhole to “extreme conditions and heavy truck traffic in our alleys.”

As a result of the heavy rains, the water table around Artesia has risen approximately three feet. “”This creates unstable conditions in areas that are normally stable,” said Burkhardt.

Burkhardt expressed gratitude to Artesia residents for their patience. “We want to thank the citizens of Artesia for being patient with the traffic situations while these repairs are being completed.”


 

 

 

 


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