City of East Wenatchee Narrowly Avoids Sinkhole Disaster on 4th Street

The City of East Wenatchee narrowly avoided a disastrous sinkhole after one of their water pipes broke Wednesday evening.

Greater Wenatchee Irrigation crews finished repairing a minor leak on one of their water mains on the intersection of 4th Street SE and S Mary Avenue Thursday afternoon.

Greater Wenatchee Irrigation District Manager Craig Gyselinck said they discovered that one of their 4-inch concrete pipes broke and was creating a sinkhole underneath the road.

“If we hadn't caught it, there would probably be significant damage but it was about the size of a basketball and growing fairly quickly,” Gyselinck said. “But we were able to figure out where the water was coming from, shut off the pipe, and avoid further damages to the road.”

Traffic on that intersection was blocked off for half a day as crews dug up the road to repair the pipe.

The intersection reopened on Thursday afternoon.