Gaping Hillsdale Sinkhole Shuts Down SW Dosch Cut-Through

A massive sinkhole opened up under SW Dosch Road in Southwest Portland on Wednesday, forcing transportation crews to shut down a busy stretch of the hillside route. The chasm, clocking in at roughly 15 feet wide, 12 feet long and about 12 feet deep, triggered a full closure between SW Newby Terrace and SW Hamilton Street. Portland Bureau of Transportation crews remain on scene, and drivers are being told to steer clear until repairs are finished.

PBOT: closure, size and detour

According to a post from the Portland Bureau of Transportation (Facebook), crews stumbled on the sinkhole while working in the area and immediately shut down the block between SW Newby Terrace and SW Hamilton Street. PBOT pegged the void at about 15 by 12 by 12 feet and is routing traffic around the closure via SW Redondo Avenue for safety. The bureau has not yet provided any estimate for when SW Dosch will reopen.

Why crews were on SW Dosch

The City of Portland's transportation bureau had already slated stretches of SW Dosch for maintenance and repaving under its Fixing Our Streets program, with crews on the job since late May. That advisory notes that work was expected between SW Patton Road and SW Doschdale Drive through June 23, which helps explain why PBOT staffers were close at hand when the ground gave way. For urgent road hazards, the bureau's maintenance dispatch lists email [email protected] and phone 503-823-1700.

A pattern of pavement failures

Portland has been dealing with a run of abrupt pavement collapses this spring, from ordinary potholes to full-on sinkholes, and city workers have repeatedly taped off lanes while they check for deeper problems. An early May Alder Street sinkhole downtown forced lane closures and rattled commuters, and some residents say the string of failures underscores just how far behind the city is on repaving. How long each closure lasts depends on what crews find in the utilities below, so drivers can be looking at anything from a quick fix to a weeks-long headache.

On Wednesday, PBOT crews were back out on SW Dosch, inspecting whatever lies beneath the fresh crater before deciding how to rebuild the road. The bureau said it will post updates on its social channels as work moves ahead. Until then, drivers are urged to respect the closure signs, stick to the SW Redondo Avenue detour and factor in extra time getting through the Hillsdale area.