Dozens of curious onlookers were kept at bay by emergency workers Wednesday night as they tried to catch a glimpse of the gaping hole that used to be Bank Street.
Approximately three-quarters of Bank Street, which runs between M and Prospect streets past Kinko’s, collapsed into the hole that is part of a construction project on the street.
According to Metropolitan Police Sergeant Walter Faryniarz, two MPD officers were patrolling on Bank St. at approximately 7:30 p.m. when they felt the ground “rumble.” Faryniarz said that the officers escaped in time to watch most of the street crumble into the hole.
The cause of the collapse has yet to be determined, although Faryniarz said that a water main was discovered to have burst at the construction site, and a heavy crane had been parked on the street all day.
All the cars parked in the parking garage on the east side of Bank Street are trapped in the garage until the area is declared structurally stable.
Dave Waugh, a Pennsylvania resident who comes to D.C. three days a week to work, discovered that his car was trapped in the parking garage after the collapse.
“I just bought a brand-new car for the first time in fifteen years. The construction company is going to be hearing from a bunch of lawyers,” Waugh said.
Multiple District agencies, including Pepco, Washington Gas, D.C. Emergency Management Agency, MPD and the Metropolitan Fire Department responded to the scene.
Ekin Yasif (SFS ‘03), a student who lives on the corner of Bank and Prospect streets, said the collapse did not come as a surprise.
“We have been scared of that happening for a while. The buildings have been shaking and the construction has never seemed safe. It wasn’t really a surprise,” Yasif said.
Yasif said her building, inhabited entirely by Georgetown students, was evacuated and that residents are not likely to be let back in until Thursday morning.
There are no estimates of how long M Street will be closed or when cars will be able to leave the parking garage.
“It’s just like the tractor guy,” said an MPD officer. “Everyone is just going to have to wait.”
