Sinkhole shuts down Wendover Avenue in Greensboro

Dan Deuterman

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You don't see this every day.

A water main broke in Greensboro, N.C., last week, causing a huge sinkhole to form on one of the city's busiest streets.

The hole was so big that it swallowed a car -- a Honda Accord. Check out the photos under the multimedia link at the http://www.news-record.comNews & Record Web site.

Here's the story of what happened;

A water-main break early Wednesday under Wendover Avenue between Hill and Church streets caused a 15-feet wide by 24 feet sinkhole in Wendover's eastbound lanes. The 12-inch water main runs below Wendover's center eastbound lane. The cracked pipe poured out 1,500 to 2,500 gallons of water per minute for hours, eroding dirt that supported the road.

Wendover Avenue is Greensboro's second most-traveled roadway -- behind Interstate 40 -- and carries 72,000 vehicles per day.

Fortunately, the sinkhole opened up at 2:30 a.m., an hour when few morning commuters are on the busy road. Unfortunately for the drivers and passengers of the Honda Accord, it sank completely into the hole. All three occupants got out of the car before it sank and none of them were injured. Christine Alison Blair was identified in police reports as the driver of the Honda Accord.