Lynn crews fill collapsed portion of intersection

LYNN ? A large sinkhole about 12 feet in diameter that was blocking traffic at the intersection of Shepard and South Common streets after a sewer pipe collapsed has been filled in and fixed.The brick sewer main broke on Friday, Aug. 21, causing the road to collapse and form the large sinkhole. Larry Harris, superintendent of the Lynn Water and Sewer department, said he received a call from the police about the incident around noon that day. He said the collapse could have been the result of heavy rains that morning or the age of the pipe, but he does not know what caused it. He said the sewer pipe that broke was about 100 years old.According to Andrew Hall, commissioner of the Public Works department, the sinkhole was repaired as of Monday. Prior to that, he said, concrete barriers were put up to make the area safe.Harris said the repair work, done by Meninno Construction, was simple, but at the same time time-consuming.?It’s pretty cut and dry,” Harris said. “There was a collapse and they fixed it.”Harris said that work included repairing the brick piping with new brick and concrete the day after the collapse. He said the brick piping was secured and completed by last Wednesday. Part of the work with the piping included removing the dirt and other debris that caved into the sewer. After repairs were done on the pipe, the construction company could begin filling in the sinkhole.Harris said the sinkhole was backfilled with stone, sand and hot top. The area was then compressed with a tamper machine. He said the area just needs to be capped with a top coat of hot top, or asphalt, and smaller stone than was used to fill in the sinkhole, as traffic is driving over the area for a few days first to settle it.He is aiming for that top coat to be capped by Friday.?I’m very happy with the work they did,” Harris said of Meninno Construction.Nick Meninno, owner of Meninno Construction, said the piping was made of red sewer brick from the late 1800s. He said his company’s task was to expose the sewer line and rebuild the eight-foot section with brick and a thin layer of concrete before replacing the earth that washed away from the sinkhole.?It’s always alarming to see a hole appear beneath a city street,” Meninno said. “Fortunately no one was hurt. It’s been repaired.”