A portion of Cathedral Street in Mount Vernon has reopened after being closed for more than six months because of a sinkhole, Baltimore public works officials said Friday.
Officials said the repairs between Madison and Monument streets were completed in time for the beginning of the FlowerMart festival, which runs 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday at the Washington Monument.
FlowerMart organizers said they planned around the construction, moving booths from the area near Cathedral to other areas. Vendors were given advance notice about the construction, as well as detour routes, said festival president Karen Lease Friday morning.
"As of last night, the fencing and everything around [the construction site] was still up. I saw city workers still there at 7 or 8 p.m.," Lease said Friday.
She said she also had to "keep on top" of city officials to make sure jersey walls and barrels around the monument for the construction would be removed in time for vendors to set up.
The street has been closed since October, when a major sewer main more than 30 feet beneath the street broke, allowing sewage to seep into the ground. The damage created a void under the street, causing it to collapse.
The sinkhole occurred just as a 2.6-mile, two-way protected bike lane was set to open. "It was slated to be completed the same week the sinkhole opened," said Liz Cornish, the executive director of Bikemore, a bicycling advocacy group.
Because of the repair work, the new bike lane "hasn't had a chance to be realized," said Cornish. Now, it will be open "for great spring bike riding," she said.
She said city transportation officials told Bikemore that flex posts separating the bike lane will be added in coming weeks.
The sinkhole also caused the Maryland Transit Administration to divert the 3 and 11 bus lines, causing a minor delay because the buses had to travel a slightly longer distance to complete their routes, MTA spokesman Paul Shepard said.
"It is always good news for us when a street construction project is completed because our buses don't have to use a circuitous route," he said.
The Department of Public Works said the collapse was the third time last year that a hole opened on that section of sewer main. In late April of last year, a collapse occurred in the 100 block of W. Centre St., and on July 4 another occurred in the 400 block of W. Mulberry St.
The DPW built 1.2 miles of new pipes within the old brick-and-mortar sewer at a cost more than $20 million. Water and gas lines were also rebuilt in the areas where the streets collapsed.
Trinacria Cafe general manager Cory Tallarico said the construction throughout Mount Vernon has been a major headache for the restaurant at the corner of Centre Street and Park Avenue.
"There was a giant sinkhole last July and they almost shut us down" for good, Tallarico said. "You couldn't even get in the door."
He said the owners chose to close temporarily and commit to remodeling the restaurant while the road construction was being completed.
Since the repairs have been completed, he said, business has picked back up.
"It's certainly gotten better," he said.
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