A sinkhole appeared underneath and next to the railroad track east of 11th Street, between Norwood and Laurel streets in south Brainerd.
A resident expressed concerns for the site's safety if someone was walking at night along 11th Street, a couple of blocks from downtown Brainerd.
The sinkhole formed underneath an old spur line, currently decommissioned, which is not on city of Brainerd property, but owned by BNSF Railway. Yellow safety ribbons were placed around the sinkhole to demarcate the site. In emails to the Dispatch, BNSF Railway representatives said they are aware of the sinkhole and there are plans for crews to address the problem this coming week.
"It could be an old culvert underneath that's collapsing, I'm not exactly certain what it is," City Engineer Paul Sandy told the Dispatch during a phone interview. "There's no utility over there, no city utilities-I'm just assuming it's an old culvert, just our storm-sewer culvert at Vine and Walnut streets that got corroded (earlier in the year) and soil collapsed in."
