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Massive Sinkhole Opens on Washington Heights Street

By  Ben Fractenberg and Lindsay Armstrong | December 1, 2014 4:28pm 

 A sanitation truck was stuck in the large hole on Monday morning.
A sanitation truck was stuck in the large hole on Monday morning.
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DNAinfo/BenFractenberg

WASHINGTON HEIGHTS — A huge sinkhole opened up on West 158th Street Monday morning, leading a garbage truck to become stuck in the gaping hole and closing the street to traffic, according to locals and police.

It was unclear what caused the sinkhole, located near the corner of Edgecombe Avenue, though it managed to partially swallow a Department of Sanitation truck, a witness and police source said.

“They pulled a garbage truck out,” said Earl Green, 40, who works at a building close to the intersection. “That’s crazy.”

A police source confirmed that a truck belonging to the Sanitation Department had gotten stuck, but had since been freed. No injuries were reported.

As of Monday afternoon, West 158th Street was closed to traffic between Edgecombe and St. Nicholas avenues.

A spokesman for the Department of Environmental Protection, which is normally responsible for repairing sinkholes, said an investigation at the site revealed a small break in the sewer line that runs beneath the road. Temporary repairs, including rebuilding the roadway, are currenlty under way at the site, he said.

DEP will schedule a more permanent repair in the near future, the spokesman added. 

Con Edison was also making repairs at the site, a police source said, though the agency did not immediately respond to a request for comment.