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Once-filled sinkhole in Treme growing larger

Eyewitness News began tracking the pothole back in April.

Two years ago New Orleans was celebrating Sinkhole De Mayo with a very large opening Canal, this year it's almost the same, but on St. Bernard near I-10.

This one is also largely the size of a car, and some drivers say it's caused some damage.

"One time the cone was knocked over for some reason and I forgot that the hole was there and it felt like my whole front end was going to come out," Damien Digital said.

Eyewitness News began tracking the pothole back in April, but Robert Adams who lives nearby says he's been dodging it for months.

"It's a huge inconvenience especially when you pay your hard earned tax dollars and to have something that is that big of a safety hazard kind of get prolonged and get stretched," said Adams.

The hole became so large, at one point, it was taking up the whole side of St. Bernard heading West. It was filled but slowly opened up again after a few weeks.

"I've heard big loud thumps from watching people hit it, not knowing it was there," Jerry Brown said.

Brown runs a cafe inside the supermarket at the corner of Claiborne and St. Bernard. He says some have come in frustrated, but then Friday he was the one upset.

"They were doing some work on it yesterday which caused a huge plumbing issue for us, we had to shut down," Brown said.

Since Friday the hole has been seen filled with a mixture of dirt and gravel, but it's still a road hazard, as cars routinely swerve onto oncoming traffic to avoid it.

Eyewitness News initially reached out to the Sewerage and Water Board a week ago, and they wrote back saying, "S&WB work crews are evaluating the situation and planning a long-lasting repair."

It's not clear yet what is causing the hole to persist, but near it, water is leaking onto St. Bernard.

"The city won't reimburse you for tires so the least they could do is keep a main thoroughfare like this fixed," Adams added.

Until it's all fixed, residents like Adams have a sinking feeling about this.

"Especially when you have a pot hole that is that deep," he said.

Eyewitness News again reached out to SW&B on Friday about the loose filling in the sinkhole, but so far we have not heard back.

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