HOUSTON – An apparent sinkhole that seems to be growing on a northeast side street is raising concerns for people in the community who say calls for repairs seem to be going unanswered.
“This is an emergency. This is not some small pothole,” said Andrew Guerrero who’s lived in the community for 15 years.
He says the ground on Raymondville and Deuster began giving way some three months ago.
“I know there are other neighborhoods in the city that pay more taxes than this neighborhood, but we’re still the city of Houston, we are a community. We are one,” Guerrero said.
He says he feels the community has been neglected because he’s spoken to city officials and has only gotten broken promises.
“Ultimately it’s a bad look on who we are as Houstonians,” he said.
Guerrero said that almost immediately after the sinkhole appeared, the city did come and put out large barriers in an effort to deter traffic. The problem, he says, is that a lot of drivers simply move them out the way to get by, not realizing the potential dangers right in front of them.
We also contacted the city’s water department which sent a crew out to assess the situation immediately. An assistant director told KPRC 2 the issue was caused by a broken wastewater line that is scheduled to be repaired.
“Throw down some asphalt, come out bring a bulldozer. Let’s dig this pipe out, lets re-pipe it,” Guerrero said.
For now, city officials promising to put a large metal plate over the indentation first thing in the morning, until a permanent solution can be implemented in a few weeks.
Anyone dealing with infrastructural issues should report them to 311 and keep a record of your calls.
