Sinkhole

West Baltimore Street, which has been closed since Monday morning between Hood Street and Summit Avenue, is expected to reopen by 8 a.m. Saturday, said Mary King, communications manager for the City of Hagerstown. Work on the street was scheduled to be completed by Friday afternoon, but work crews want to give the asphalt time to dry before they reopen the road, King said. The road closed at 3 a.m. Monday after a water main broke, creating a sinkhole that measured 12 feet long, 6 feet wide and 4 feet deep.

The City of Hagerstown's water division is continuing to work to repair a water main break that occurred Monday morning on West Baltimore Street between Hood Street and Summit Avenue, and department officials hope to have that section of West Baltimore Street reopened to traffic by 5 p.m. Wednesday, according to city spokeswoman Mary King. King said the work schedule will depend on the extent of the repairs needed. The 12-inch water main broke at about 3 a.m., according to Michael Spiker, director of utilities for the City of Hagerstown Utilities Department.

FREDERICK, Md. - A developing sinkhole forced officials to close westbound Interstate 70 near South Street in Frederick and redirect traffic to the shoulder during Thursday's morning rush hour. State Highway Administration workers noticed a slight depression Thursday as they drove along I-70 near Frederick at 7:30 a.m., said spokesman David Buck. Recognizing it as a sign of a sinkhole, they closed down the left lane within 15 minutes and went in with jackhammers to determine the extent of the damage.

At 10 a.m. Wednesday, the Maryland State Highway Administration closed the ramp from South Street to eastbound Interstate 70, as well as the left lane along eastbound I-70 near South Street in Frederick County, to repair a sinkhole which developed in the median about 1,000 feet east of the bridge over South Street. Motorists wishing to enter eastbound I-70 from South Street will be detoured to make a right onto Monocacy Boulevard, then right onto East Patrick Street to the light at the ramp for eastbound I-70.

Work to repair a broken water main and a sinkhole caused by escaping water is expected to continue through Friday afternoon, a city spokeswoman said Tuesday. Crews have been working since 3 a.m. Monday to repair the broken water main on West Baltimore Street between Hood Street and Summit Avenue. The leak created a sinkhole that measured 12 feet long, 6 feet wide and 4 feet deep. Mary King, the city's communications director, said that West Baltimore Street in the area of the sinkhole will remain closed until 4:30 p.m. Friday.

As a result of a sinkhole that formed adjacent to Monocacy Boulevard near I-70 early Tuesday afternoon, the State Highway Administration has temporarily closed the ramp from westbound Interstate 70 to Monocacy Boulevard in Frederick, SHA announced in a news release.   Drivers are encouraged to use westbound I-70 to East Street to Patrick Street to reach Monacacy Boulevard. Frederick County Department of Public Works crews have also closed Monacacy Boulevard between Patrick Street and South Street.  SHA expects the ramp and Monacacy Boulevard to be closed through the evening rush hour and into this evening, according to the release.

HAGERSTOWN How much difference can 6 inches of earth make? Plenty, if it's on a football field where teens in cleats are trying to keep their footing. Early last week, a sinkhole was discovered near the 5-yard line on the left side of the field at the new Mike Callas Stadium at North Hagerstown High School. The depression was about 6 inches deep, according to Rob Rollins, acting director of facilities planning and development for Washington County Public Schools. He said the contractor, Specialty Surfaces of Wayne, Pa., arrived Friday to fill the sinkhole.

martinsburg@herald-mail.com It opened up a couple of weeks ago and has been eating truckload after truckload of gravel since then. Residents nearby are worried about what dangers lie within the 130-foot-deep sinkhole off Hack Wilson Way. Pat Arnold, a substitute teacher who lives in one of the two dozen townhouses around the sinkhole, said he worries about the hole because of all the children in the neighborhood. They skateboard and play basketball in a parking lot adjacent to the hole, which Arnold estimates is no more than 10 or 15 feet across.

MARTINSBURG, W.VA. -- Little more than a dozen people showed up Thursday afternoon for what could be the last public hearing on Berkeley County's long-standing effort to overhaul its rules for new development. "Most of the things that I heard today are technical changes, which would not require another public hearing if changed," Planning Department Director Stefanie Allemong said after the county commission heard comments from six people about the proposed rewriting of the county's subdivision ordinance.

At 10 a.m. Wednesday, the Maryland State Highway Administration closed the ramp from South Street to eastbound Interstate 70, as well as the left lane along eastbound I-70 near South Street in Frederick County, to repair a sinkhole which developed in the median about 1,000 feet east of the bridge over South Street. Motorists wishing to enter eastbound I-70 from South Street will be detoured to make a right onto Monocacy Boulevard, then right onto East Patrick Street to the light at the ramp for eastbound I-70.

West Baltimore Street was closed Tuesday morning between Hood Street and Summit Avenue, the site of a sinkhole that forced emergency repairs to be made the street last week. At least an inch of blacktop had to be added to the road surface, according to Shawn Gelwicks, foreman for Huntzberry Brothers. That block of West Baltimore Street was closed most of last week to repair a 12 feet long, 6 feet wide and 4 feet deep sinkhole that was created by a broken water main the morning of Monday, Aug. 22. The street reopened Saturday, but Gelwicks said more blacktop needed to be added to stabilize the road, though.

West Baltimore Street, which has been closed since Monday morning between Hood Street and Summit Avenue, is expected to reopen by 8 a.m. Saturday, said Mary King, communications manager for the City of Hagerstown. Work on the street was scheduled to be completed by Friday afternoon, but work crews want to give the asphalt time to dry before they reopen the road, King said. The road closed at 3 a.m. Monday after a water main broke, creating a sinkhole that measured 12 feet long, 6 feet wide and 4 feet deep.

Work to repair a broken water main and a sinkhole caused by escaping water is expected to continue through Friday afternoon, a city spokeswoman said Tuesday. Crews have been working since 3 a.m. Monday to repair the broken water main on West Baltimore Street between Hood Street and Summit Avenue. The leak created a sinkhole that measured 12 feet long, 6 feet wide and 4 feet deep. Mary King, the city's communications director, said that West Baltimore Street in the area of the sinkhole will remain closed until 4:30 p.m. Friday.

The City of Hagerstown's water division is continuing to work to repair a water main break that occurred Monday morning on West Baltimore Street between Hood Street and Summit Avenue, and department officials hope to have that section of West Baltimore Street reopened to traffic by 5 p.m. Wednesday, according to city spokeswoman Mary King. King said the work schedule will depend on the extent of the repairs needed. The 12-inch water main broke at about 3 a.m., according to Michael Spiker, director of utilities for the City of Hagerstown Utilities Department.

The right lane of eastbound Interstate 70 between Md. 85 and South Street in Frederick was closed Thursday afternoon because of a sinkhole adjacent to the highway, the State Highway Administration said in a news release. The closure will allow crews to stabilize the shoulder of the highway by filling the sinkhole with cement and rocks, the release said. SHA engineers and geologists determined that the sinkhole must be filled to avoid impacts to travel lanes on I-70, according to the release.

As a result of a sinkhole that formed adjacent to Monocacy Boulevard near I-70 early Tuesday afternoon, the State Highway Administration has temporarily closed the ramp from westbound Interstate 70 to Monocacy Boulevard in Frederick, SHA announced in a news release.   Drivers are encouraged to use westbound I-70 to East Street to Patrick Street to reach Monacacy Boulevard. Frederick County Department of Public Works crews have also closed Monacacy Boulevard between Patrick Street and South Street.  SHA expects the ramp and Monacacy Boulevard to be closed through the evening rush hour and into this evening, according to the release.

MARTINSBURG, W.VA. -- Little more than a dozen people showed up Thursday afternoon for what could be the last public hearing on Berkeley County's long-standing effort to overhaul its rules for new development. "Most of the things that I heard today are technical changes, which would not require another public hearing if changed," Planning Department Director Stefanie Allemong said after the county commission heard comments from six people about the proposed rewriting of the county's subdivision ordinance.

WASHINGTON COUNTY - A 12-foot sinkhole closed one lane of traffic Friday in the westbound lanes of Interstate 70 and caused big backups. The sinkhole opened before 11 a.m. in the median adjacent to the road's shoulder east of the U.S. 40 interchange, Maryland State Police said. Police closed the left lane of westbound I-70 for more than four hours while State Highway Administration (SHA) workers filled the sinkhole, causing traffic to back up as many as nine miles. The road was reopened about 3 p.m., according to an SHA press release.

WASHINGTON COUNTY -- A 12-foot sinkhole closed one lane of traffic Friday in the westbound lanes of Interstate 70 and caused big backups. The sinkhole opened before 11 a.m. in the median adjacent to the road's shoulder east of the U.S. 40 interchange, Maryland State Police said. Police closed the left lane of westbound I-70 for more than four hours while State Highway Administration (SHA) workers filled the sinkhole, causing traffic to back up as many as nine miles. The road was reopened about 3 p.m., according to an SHA press release.