Lido Beach sinkhole repairs should be done this week, officials say

Repairs to a 20-foot-deep sinkhole on Lido Boulevard that forced the evacuation of a Lido Beach firehouse and snarled area traffic should finish within days, county officials said Monday.

Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, through a representative, said in an email: "Barring any unforeseen circumstance the project will be open and complete before the weekend."

Lauren Sternberg, a spokeswoman for the company that manages Nassau's wastewater treatment plants and sewers, said the sinkhole, reported May 31, developed after a riser connecting a submerged manhole to a sewer pipe cracked and collapsed. The adjacent sewer pipe did not collapse and the manhole has been repaired. “The end is in sight,” she said. Crews have been working "around the clock" on repairs, she said.   

No one was injured by the sinkhole and sewer service to area properties was not interrupted, but residents and visitors have endured almost two weeks of traffic delays. Lido Blvd. is Long Beach Island’s main east-west thoroughfare.

Point Lookout-Lido Fire Department Chief William Wade, whose department operates a firehouse near the Regent Drive intersection where the sinkhole appeared, said the road was still partially closed Monday, but that workers had backfilled the sinkhole with gravel and concrete, leaving only road repaving. 

"Traffic has been a constant problem," he said, but "there were no incidents when we were severely delayed in getting attention to anyone." 

Vehicles including 30-ton fire engines normally housed at the facility will not return until engineers have checked the building’s structural integrity, he said. For the last two weeks, his firefighters have worked out of a nearby firehouse and partnered with neighboring Long Beach Fire Department to ensure emergency services coverage for the area.

Elaine Silverberg, a Queens College early childhood education professor who lives nearby, said traffic congestion caused by the sinkhole and repairs remained heavy. “It took us half an hour for a very small stretch” of travel, she said.