A significant sinkhole emerged on Thursday alongside a heavily traveled interstate highway in New Jersey, leading to the diversion of motorists to avoid the affected area. The sinkhole materialized subsequent to the collapse of a section of the right lane and shoulder in the vicinity of the Wharton exit on the eastbound lanes of Interstate 80, approximately 40 miles to the west of New York City. Officials approximated the dimensions of the depression to be 40 feet wide and 40 feet deep.
By Thursday, all eastbound lanes of Interstate 80 were shut down, compelling travelers to seek alternative routes, as reported by the New Jersey Department of Transportation. As of early Friday morning, the department had not imparted any updates, leaving the cause of the sinkhole formation shrouded in uncertainty.
Visual documentation portrays congested traffic and crews on-site surveying the extent of the damage. Heavy machinery was observed at the scene on Thursday, as assessments were being conducted to facilitate the design of repair strategies for the vast sinkhole situated near Interstate 80 in New Jersey, just west of New York City.
While the eastbound lanes of Interstate 80 were inaccessible due to repair endeavors on the sinkhole, the westbound lanes remained accessible for motorists. Crews readied heavy machinery to initiate the repair process on the sizable sinkhole, situated off the shoulder of the dual-lane roadway.
Sinkholes, characterized as deep depressions in the terrain that arise when layers of specific rock types dissolve below the surface and subsequently cave in, generally form progressively through a process in which groundwater disintegrates minerals in the underlying soluble rock. The disintegrated minerals create voids within the rock, leading to its weakening until eventual collapse.
Sinkholes exhibit variance in both diameter and depth. Some may feature vertical walls, while others may resemble saucers or shallow basins, with certain sinkholes even containing water, forming ponds, as highlighted by the U.S. Geological Survey.
The traffic backlog was evident on Thursday along Interstate 80 due to the presence of the sinkhole near Wharton, New Jersey. Over the past 15 years, sinkhole-related damages have incurred an average annual cost of $300 million within the United States.
The formation of a sinkhole on the eastbound side of Interstate 80 close to Wharton, New Jersey, resulted in traffic disruptions along the bustling thoroughfare, located approximately 40 miles to the west of New York City. Conversely, the westbound lanes remained unaffected by the sinkhole occurrence.
The sinkhole’s emergence on the eastbound section of Interstate 80 near Wharton, New Jersey, induced traffic delays on the busy highway, situated about 40 miles to the west of New York City. The operational status of the westbound lanes remained unimpeded by the sinkhole event.
