Crews still working to repair Uptown sinkhole 3 months later

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - At the corner of 27th and Girard in South Minneapolis, a fence now surrounds what was once an infamous neighborhood attraction. But three months after a sinkhole opened up in the middle of the intersection, some neighbors wonder why repairs are taking so long.

"It's been a while. I'm a little concerned. My apartment is right over there so it makes me wonder why isn't this fixed yet," said Amanda Schultz, who lives nearby.

Back in April, a crater 10 feet deep and five feet wide appeared after a 120-year-old sewer line collapsed.

At the time, city officials said the sinkhole would probably take about a week to fix and they asked curious onlookers to stay away.

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"I walked up and I was like 'Whoa! Look at the sinkhole. That's a crazy sinkhole.' You know some of the potholes around here are maybe about that size. Just kidding, but nothing like that. That's quite crazy," said neighbor Andy Schmitz on Easter Sunday.

Now the Met Council says construction at the sinkhole is moving slower than expected because most of the work has to be done by hand, due to the depth of the project, the age of the infrastructure, and the presence of water and gas utilities near the maintenance hole they are working on. 

But some neighbors say the blocked intersection has made it harder to find already limited on-street parking and more difficult for larger vehicles and delivery drivers to navigate the side streets in the area.

"The school bus can't come down here, the summer school bus. It's just really hard. Ubers. It's difficult," said Diedre O'Donoghue, who recently moved a few doors down from the sinkhole.

"I definitely feel there should be more progress by now. It doesn't feel like much has changed in the last month or so," said neighbor Sohrob Benvidi, 

The Met Council plans to finish rebuilding the sewer structure by the end of the month.

Then it will be up to the Minneapolis Public Works to repair the pavement, but there's no word on how long that will take.

"I just hope it gets fixed, the sooner the better. And hopefully, they do a good job so it doesn't cause more problems down the line. Better to do a good job than a quick job you know?" said Benvidi.