TULSA, Okla. — The outer southbound lane of Yale Ave. has been shut down in a very busy spot, by the Creek Turnpike, because of a sinkhole.
The visible portion of the sinkhole is in the grass by the sidewalk in the southbound lanes.
But officials are worried the sinkhole might extend much further beneath the sidewalk and the outside traffic lane in a way that’s not visible from above.
So, City Councilor Phil Lakin says they don’t want something as heavy as a vehicle driving on top of it.
“Obviously we don’t want any issues with any traffic going over that lane causing any more pressure on that hole or something even worse,” Lakin said.
Right now, all the entrance and exit ramps on the Creek Turnpike are open to and from Yale.
Lakin says they don’t have a timeline yet on repairs.
He says based on his experience from the 2019 flooding that affecting Riverside Drive, some sinkholes can be repaired relatively quickly by just backfilling the hole with some dirt and some require much more extensive efforts involving concrete and gravel.
He says it seems likely that the hole was caused by heavy rain that persisted for a long time in that same general area of south Tulsa on Tuesday night into Wednesday morning.
KRMG Chief Meteorologist James Aydelott says an estimated 3 to 4 inches of rain fell in a short period of time Tuesday night and Wednesday morning in south Tulsa County.
