Justin Scharbrough, Newport Public Works superintendent, observes a sinkhole that opened up on Oceanview Drive, Oct. 25. The city does not yet know how long the road will remain closed. (Photo by Steve Card)
A portion of Newport’s Oceanview Drive is closed south of the Agate Beach Wayside due to a sinkhole. The barricade is located just beyond the intersection with Northwest 25th Street, which is the road leading up to the Newport Walmart.
A Newport Public Works crew member does an initial evaluation of a sinkhole on Oceanview Drive shortly after it was reported at around 8 p.m. on Oct. 25.
Oceanview Drive, a popular road in Newport that provides motorists with one of the best local views of the beach and ocean, is partially closed due to a sinkhole that opened up the evening of Oct. 25.
Chunks of pavement from the street fell into the hole as it opened up, which is estimated to be about 25 feet deep. That sinkhole undercut about half to two-thirds of the southbound lane.
The city issued a press release the following day, notifying drivers that the road will be closed pending a site evaluation and the completion of needed repairs.
According to city personnel, the sinkhole was first discovered around 8 p.m. the evening of Oct. 25 when a southbound vehicle drove over it and popped a tire. That driver called the police, who responded to the scene and placed flares around the damaged portion of the road to alert other motorists. Police officers then notified Newport Public Works, and a crew arrived to close the road and secure the area.
The city contracted with a geologist from Corvallis, who was scheduled to assess the damage and determine what will need to be done to fix it.
The News-Times contacted Newport City Manager Spencer Nebel to ask about the anticipated length of the road closure. Nebel said Tuesday afternoon that the city is still waiting for the geologist’s report.
“There’s really no clear update on how we’re going to address the issues on Oceanview Drive,” Nebel said. He added that the city is also doing some further evaluation of the storm sewer pipe that runs under the road at that location. “There appears to have been some sort of potential failure there, and hopefully we’ll have a little more information in the next couple of days,” he said. “As soon as we have more information, we’ll determine what next steps are in order to get that road opened and back into service.”
No further updates were available as of the News-Times press deadline on Wednesday. New information will be posted on the newspaper’s website — wwww.newportnewstimes.com — as it becomes available.
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