Baldwin sinkhole: Repairs will take at least two weeks, Blakeman says

Repairs to a massive sinkhole at a busy Baldwin intersection will take at least two weeks, Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman said Saturday.

The sinkhole developed at the intersection of Grand and Lorenz avenues Thursday, two days after an issue was discovered: A 42-inch sewer main had corroded and developed cracks, allowing sand to infiltrate the pipe and creating a void between the roadway and the pipe's exterior, officials said. 

Blakeman, speaking at the site Saturday, said officials are waiting for the delivery of lining that's to be installed. Delivery is expected July 10, and he said officials are "hopeful" work will be completed to what he described as a "large infrastructure failure" by July 15.

"In the meantime, we have lots of work to do, though," he said. "We have to pump out the site, we have to clean the lines. It's not as if we're sitting idly by and letting this just sit without any work being done."

Blakeman acknowledged work could extend beyond July 15 if there are "underlying conditions we may not know about."

The collapse sent sewage into the Brookside Preserve creek and the backyards of neighboring homes. Blakeman said three homes were directly impacted. 

Nassau County Health Commissioner Dr. Irina Gelman said the department is monitoring water quality and has been in communication with the state Department of Environmental Conservation.

"So far there are no health concerns," she said, adding that the creek is currently "in the clear."

Work at the site remains ongoing through the weekend, officials said.

Detours are set up in the area between Baldwin Avenue and Seaman Avenue, leaving several blocks of Grand Avenue closed to traffic in both directions. Blakeman said police are working to make the disruptions "as minimal as possible."

Construction crews by Saturday had encircled the sinkhole with a barrier and wooden fence. 

On Lorenz Avenue, a pipe stretched about 300 feet from the sinkhole to large pumps set up in the residential street. Norbert Anderson stood outside watering his lawn Saturday afternoon amid constant humming from the pumps.

He said it’s been difficult to get sleep with the pumps running around the clock. He said his wife works as a nurse in Brooklyn and wakes up for work at 3:30 a.m.

“She locks the window airtight, but still noise, so she can’t sleep at night,” he said.

He said his house, where he’s lived for about 20 years, did not have any issues with sewage, but his water was shut off on the first day for a few hours. He’s had to park on a different street.

Blakeman said officials set up an incident command center at the sinkhole site that is manned by the Nassau County Police Department, county public works department, the fire marshal's office, health department and contractors and vendors.

He said members of the police department's community affairs office will be distributing flyers to neighbors, with information and a hotline number to the incident command center.

Blakeman, who was joined by other officials at Saturday's press conference, said Bancker Construction of Islip is handling construction at the site.

Last month, a 20-foot-deep sinkhole in Lido Beach snarled traffic for two weeks and forced the evacuation of a firehouse.

With Robert Brodsky