DAMASCUS, Ore. — The Oregon Department of Transportation and Clackamas County will deploy an emergency bridge typically used by the military to help a neighborhood affected by a large sinkhole.
Clackamas County officials say a failed pipe created the sinkhole in the community of Damascus, about 15 miles southeast of Portland. The sinkhole has cut off residents from emergency services like fire, ambulance and police. County officials say some residents may also be stranded.
"This pipe was paced about 50 years ago and the rainstorms filled it full of debris and the pipe just failed, which led the road to collapse," Clackamas County spokesperson Kimberly Dinwiddie said.
The sinkhole is located on Hideaway Court, a dead-end street past the intersection of Hogan Road and Rugg Road. On Tuesday morning, crews began putting up the bridge. Officials said they expect it to be built by the end of the day.
Anthony and Faith Maldonado live about a quarter of a mile up the road from the sinkhole. On Sunday night, they got the warning to move their cars or be stranded. They have only been able to access their homes on foot.
"They said, this is the last time you can get your cars out and everybody started hustling," Faith said. "We have our rubber boots ready to go."
No one was hurt in the incident, but the sinkhole cut about a dozen residents off from emergency services. So, they needed a fix as soon as possible.
"This is a historic repair for Clackamas County," Dinwiddie said.
Historic, according to Dinwiddie, because the county is using the emergency bridge, on loan, from ODOT. This will be only the second time this emergency bridge has been used in the past 15 years, according to ODOT officials.
"This bridge has been used in military actions, typically, and is something the state keeps on hand for such emergencies like this," Dinwiddie said.
The emergency bridge will reconnect the neighborhood to critical emergency services, such as fire trucks and ambulances.
"We're really grateful. It'll be really nice to put our rigs back in the garages and have trash service and to have emergency service available to us too," Anthony said.
Crews hoped to have the emergency bridge erected and ready for use by the end of the day Tuesday. They plan to start permanent repairs in early June.