I-80 Sinkhole Slows Travel In Truckee

[UPDATE: The I-80 sinkhole problem has been fixed. All lanes near Truckee have reopened. The original story continues below.]

Sinkholes are swallowing our trees and now they are swallowing our roads. The 1-80 sinkhole ate up a chunk of road in Truckee, California this morning.

According to KCRA, the I-80 sinkhole is only about 3-feet wide but it has still caused a major headache for travelers. Two lanes were closed on the highway forcing major delays in the area.

My News 4 writes: “I-80 has one lane open in each direction, making for slow going traffic.”

The cause of the sinkhole is unknown but it reportedly opened up on Friday morning during a paving operation near Donner Pass Road. Construction crews are currently examining the sinkhole to determine what repairs were needed to reopen the highway.

Caltrans spokeswoman Rochelle Jenkins said that the sinkhole was located alongside an underground culvert and has probably been developing for years.

Jenkins said: “Water invasively tries to find its way through things and doesn’t always make it through culverts, as much as we try… It has been developing for a while. Not something that developed over the week.”

The California Highway Patrol seems to have the problem under control as they expect the highway to be completely reopened by 6 pm tonight.

This has been a big week for sinkhole stories. The scariest of which came from a bayou in Louisiana where a massive sinkhole swallowed a group of trees. The Bayou Corne Sinkhole is rapidly expanding and has forced more than 300 residents in the area to abandon their homes.

You can watch a video of the Bayou Corne Sinkhole here or check out the video about the I-80 sinkhole below.