S(t)ink hole fix will take 2 months

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - After sewage started seeping above ground on Thursday, the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority says the fix will now span nearly 1,500 feet and take up to eight weeks to fix.

"When the sewer line actually collapsed it caused a backup of the sewer system here so we had actually quite a spectacular water show going on," said David Morris, the spokesman for ABCWUA.

Broadway Boulevard SE is closed northbound from Avenida Cesar Chavez to Pacific.  One southbound lane is also closed. Officials fear a massive collapse could happen because so much water leaked from the pipe.

“You can tell from the just looking at the surface if a collapse is going on,” said Morris.

The fix is expected to take between six and eight weeks.  A new, corrosive-proof pipe has been ordered but won’t be delivered until next week.  It will be slid inside the 50 year-old faulty pipe, inch-by-inch.

“All the manholes along the way will have to be rebuilt as we go along so it becomes quite a lengthy process,” Morris said.

With several roads shut down, nearby stores say they’ve already seen business drop due to lack of access, not to mention the smell from the massive sewage hole.

“They should have made more exits for people to get around because it’s really bringing our business down,” said Freddie Jacob, the manager of Stadium Value Way grocery store.  “There’s not really anything we can do about it.”

Morris says ABCWUA is trying to help.  “We’re going to try and get some signs up to indicate to people how they can detour into the parking lot.”