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City: Sinkhole Should Be Fixed By Monday

CHICAGO (WBBM) -- The city is estimating a Monday morning road re-opening, after a sinkhole swallowed a vehicle and shut down a Northwest Side intersection Saturday morning.

Water Department Spokesman Tom LaPorte told WBBM Newsradio's Steve Miller that, by late Sunday morning, the city was almost finished repairing two sewer pipes and a water main at Foster and Elston avenues.

"What happens then is that ComEd comes in and does some repairs to its structures and then we're able to open the road to traffic," LaPorte said.

An SUV dropped off into the 20-foot wide, 12-foot deep sinkhole early Saturday morning. The driver was able to crawl out.

LaPorte says officials believe an old water main broke and caused the brick sewer infrastructure to give way.

LaPorte says the sewer line is about 100 years old and he says the water main at the intersection is probably about the same age.

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