DETROIT, May 21 (UPI) -- Detroit officials said a break in a water line caused a sinkhole in a road next to the site of the former Lafayette Building.
Officials said the sinkhole took a school bus-sized chunk out of the sidewalk and driving lanes of Lafayette Boulevard in the city's downtown Wednesday night, the Detroit Free Press reported Friday.
George Ellenwood, a spokesman for the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department, said a line ruptured above a damaged DTE Energy gas line, causing damage that will likely keep the road closed to motorists for at least two weeks, The Detroit News reported.
Ellenwood said it appears the lines were inadvertently damaged by contractors from Adamo Demolition Co., who have been working to demolish the Lafayette Building.
"We believe the break is related to the demo work," he said. "First, we do the repairs, then we look at who bears the cost. It is an issue to be determined."
A lawyer for Adamo said the area has a history of sinkholes.
"Our crews were limited to areas with no water," company attorney Jeff Gillooly said. "This demolition went without a hitch."
