
City crews worked to fix a sinkhole Tuesday morning, Nov. 18, on Torrey Pines Road at La Jolla Parkway while morning traffic backed up for more than one mile to Pearl Street. City of San Diego water crews received a call that a car drove over a sinkhole, bursting a water main, at about 2 a.m. Tuesday, said City of San Diego Water Department supervisor Nina Patterson. When crews arrived, they found a 6-inch broken pipe leading to a nearby fire hydrant, Patterson said. No homes or businesses were affected, but crews closed an eastbound lane heading toward Highway 52, tying up morning traffic. The affected intersection, called “The Throat,” is one in a handful of exits from La Jolla. In 2002, the intersection was named the second busiest in the city of San Diego, with more than 75,000 daily trips, according to the city of San Diego website. Now some residents have voiced concerns, pointing to the intersection’s high traffic concentration in asking planning groups to deny large projects that may increase the number of daily trips. “We had to narrow it down to one lane so that we can make room for the dump truck and equipment,” Patterson said. Patterson said crews expected to complete their work by afternoon rush hour, but at 9:30 a.m., traffic extended about 1 mile through the area. Water crews cut into the hole, removing the broken pipe, Patterson said. Workers waited for a new pipe while pumping excess water. Patterson said crews were hoping to fill the sinkhole within a few hours.