Failed Drain Pipe Likely Culprit In Sudbury Sinkhole

SUDBURY, MA — You can probably blame a sinkhole that opened Tuesday night along Goodman's Hill Road on the rain.

Department of Public Works Director Dan Nason said Wednesday that a corroded drain pipe under the intersection near Walker Farm Road caused a hole to open in the pavement.

Goodman's Hill Road was shut down on Tuesday night after a Sudbury police officer drove over a hole in the pavement. The officer realized it wasn't just another pothole and called DPW. On Wednesday, crews were installing a temporary polypropylene pipe across about 100 feet of roadway, and Nason said the Goodman's Hill would likely reopen by the evening.

A more permanent fix will come later. Nason said DPW was aware of the corroded pipe as recently as this spring. In fact, Town Meeting will vote on an article this Saturday to spend $120,000 to design replacements for corroded corrugated metal pipes around town. The exact cost of replacement will be decided in the future, Nason said.

Nason said that the metal pipes corrode over time due to stress and salt runoff. It's possible the Route 27 detour in Wayland across the Sudbury River has sent more traffic down Goodman's Hill Road, he said, but the pipe likely would've collapsed at some point.

"There's nothing left of the pipe in that location," he said.