Six-Foot Sinkhole Swallows Garbage Truck in Union Square

A garbage truck fell into a six-foot deep sinkhole Friday morning, closing down busy Prospect Street in Union Square, damaging sewer lines and resting on a gas line, according to Jaclyn Rossetti, a city of Somerville spokesperson.

The accident happened at around 11 a.m. on Newton Street, a road off Prospect Street near the Union Square Dunkin' Donuts, Rossetti said.

The truck was stuck in the sinkhole for about an hour, and the city needed to call in a crane to pull it out, she said.

NSTAR was called to the scene because the truck landed on a gas line that supplies the Dunkin' Donuts, Rossetti said. The utility company shut down the gas line briefly as a precaution, but Rossetti said she didn't believe it was damaged.

Sewer lines were damaged, she said, and the Somerville Department of Public Works was on scene Friday to assess the damage and figure out a way to fix it. Rossetti said Newton Street will be closed all Friday, and possibly through the weekend, so the DPW can conduct its work. It plans to excavate down 13 feet. 

Prospect street was expected to re-open Friday, she said.

No one was injured in the accident, but the city is still trying to determine what caused the sinkhole. Newton Street, though small, is a "cut through" Rossetti said, and it gets a lot of traffic.

The garbage truck was not contracted with the city, but was in its normal rounds doing private pickups, Rossetti said. Large condo and apartment complexes often use private garbage contractors.

Also, check out this video, posted by Union Square Main Streets on the organization's Facebook page.