Sinkhole in Marietta closes a portion of the bike path as crews work to fix it

MARIETTA, Ohio (WTAP) - A sinkhole has appeared overnight in Marietta behind the Water Reclamation Plant.

Due to this, a portion of the bike path is temporarily closed. Crews worked to get tape and fence up around the site in order to begin assessing the sinkhole.

“We also have a crew that’s working here behind us with our CCTV equipment which is closed caption television system. So they’re running a camera up through it so we can get to the sink hole and see where there is a repair that’s needed or what is actually wrong.” said Ryan Boley, Water Reclamation Superintendent.

READ MORE: Sink hole in Marietta closes section of bike path

The sinkhole is currently 10 feet deep and the pipe below is 16 feet deep. The next step would be if there were to be a collapsed pipe, they would excavate, secure the area, then replace.

“Depending on the, you know, the severity of it. If it is just a pipe that has collapsed, it would be an excavation where we would dig down to the pipe. We would also have to put safety systems in shoring and stuff to protect the workers as it’s at least 16 foot deep. Then we would go in and we would plug the sewer lines. They are 42 inch main lines that enter into the plant. We would plug them with rubber plugs and then we would go in, cut the pipe out and put new in.” said Boley.

The sinkhole is a bit different than the one on 4th and Marion Street. This may have been caused by a crack in the line, allowing debris to enter, according to Boley.

“In this case here, it appears that maybe a piece of the pipe has failed. Maybe a crack or some type of suture in it, which is then allowing allowing the debris in into the line.” added Boley.

Crews are asking you to please stay away from the area as it is dangerous. They are working to fix it as quickly as possible.

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