Sinkhole to Keep 3 Blocks of Hollywood Blvd. Closed

A three-block stretch of Hollywood Boulevard where a sinkhole sucked in part of the roadway a week and a half ago will stay closed at least until today, a transit agency spokeswoman said.

“They’re doing tests to determine soil stability,” said Andrea Greene of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

The boulevard is closed from Vermont Avenue to Edgemont Street.

On June 22, a 60-foot-deep sinkhole developed in front of the main staging area for Metro Rail subway construction on Hollywood Boulevard. The sinkhole has since been filled with a mixture of concrete, sand and water.

The MTA had reopened part of the roadway near the sinkhole, but then closed it again June 27 after cracks were discovered in the concrete lining of a subway tunnel across the street from the sinkhole. Since then, steel beams have been installed in the tunnel, Greene said. The sinkhole was initially blamed on a broken water main, but MTA officials say they still have not pinpointed a cause.

MTA crews have been prevented from going into the tunnel under the sinkhole because of an order from the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health.

Cal/OSHA is still investigating the situation, including whether MTA contractors should have evacuated all the workers from the nearby tunnels along Vermont Avenue when the sinkhole was discovered, said Rick Rice, an agency spokesman.