Sinkhole stalls traffic on New Meadow Road

Sinkhole located just north of Temple Habonim

EastBayRI.com ·

Workers from the Rhode Island Department of Transportation were examining a sinkhole that opened up on New Meadow Road in Barrington just north of Temple Habonim on Tuesday morning, July 25.

It was not clear what had caused the sinkhole, which measured about two to three feet in depth. Liz Pettengill, the communications director for the DOT, said workers had called the Bristol County Water Authority to check and see if a broken water line had caused the sinkhole.

"Right now, because it's high tide, we can't do anything," said Ms. Pettengill, at about noon on Tuesday. She added that water from the nearby Barrington River was flooding the hole. A bystander estimated that the sinkhole was two to three feet in depth.

Vehicle traffic in both directions was still open, but is down to one lane in that area.