Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Michigan > Grand Rapids metro area
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
 
Old 11-19-2014, 01:10 PM
 
4,792 posts, read 6,056,202 times
Reputation: 2729

Advertisements

Just curious as to the sinkhole occurrence in Western Michigan. Wondering if certain areas like Kent County were more susceptible (asking for insurance reasons).
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 11-19-2014, 01:42 PM
chh
 
Location: West Michigan
420 posts, read 653,074 times
Reputation: 376
I've never heard of a sinkhole in west Michigan. They pose little to no threat.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 11-19-2014, 04:57 PM
 
Location: Louisville
5,296 posts, read 6,063,888 times
Reputation: 9628
^what he said
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 11-19-2014, 05:52 PM
 
130 posts, read 186,347 times
Reputation: 210
Natural occurring sinkholes (as opposed to sinkholes caused by broken water mains) are rare but they do occur. Drive over to 269 Garfield SW (just north of Butterworth.) You will see a vacant lot in an otherwise built-up post WW II neighborhood. There was once a house there that got swallowed by a sinkhole. This happened I think in the late fifties. Supposedly there is an underground stream that goes under that property that caused the sinkhole. Nearby Butterworth Avenue as it goes out toward Millennium Park has collapsed a few times because of sinkholes. Generally that area has some instability. Some blame the old gypsum mines in the area or it could be the gypsum deposits themselves which can dissolve in water. Not caused by a sinkhole but back in December of 1999 the 131 S curve was suddenly closed when it was discovered it had sunk substantially into the Grand River. The pressure from the bridges along with water was causing the underlying gypsum to dissolve causing it to settle. Needless to say the S curve was replaced and presumably redesigned with a better foundation.

EDIT: my memory was a little off concerning the S curve - but not much. If anyone is interested here's the official version:

https://transportationforcommunities...%20Closure.pdf

Last edited by walker46; 11-19-2014 at 06:28 PM..
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Michigan > Grand Rapids metro area

All times are GMT -6. The time now is 01:44 AM.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top