DETROIT (WWJ) -- It’s been three months since the ground gave way in Southwest Detroit, resulting in the buckling of Dearborn Street and the demolishing of a local business.
Now, the neighborhood is finally getting some answers on what caused the strange incident.
According to the Detroit’s Chief Operating Officer, Hakim Berry, it was soil failure led the road to buckle and raise up some eight to ten feet along Fort and Dearborn streets on Sept. 12.
The owners of the dispensary Stash Detroit said they noticed their building was having some structural issues, and then smelled gas. Eventually, the structure had to be demolished.
DTE Energy later noted there was no evidence to indicate natural gas was the cause of the incident, and the utility said a natural gas explosion did not occur.
In a statement released this week, Berry says that material stored on the soil was too heavy, and caused the soil beneath it to shift.
"Our analysis determined that the ground shift was caused by a soil failure, due to the combination of the weight of materials stored in the area and the ground not being strong enough to hold it,” Berry explained. “While the company storing the material was operating completely legally, this incident and others in Southwest Detroit are causing us to review our ordinances as they relate to top material storage, particularly in the southwest area of the city.”
"The final report is nearing completion, but is currently undergoing legal review. once we're able to release the final report, we will,” he concluded.
A similar incident occurred this past weekend on Dec. 11 in River Rouge when the road buckled and cracked on Pleasant Street near Bassett, leaving several drivers stuck.
There has been no official word on whether the two situations were related.
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