OBSERVER Photo The sinkhole opened up and closed a portion of Central Avenue May 5. It was reopened fairly quickly.

A cement truck driving on Central Avenue caused the sinkhole that temporarily closed the street, Dunkirk’s deputy Department of Public Works director said last week.

The hole at the intersection with Second Street was 26 by 30 feet and about 14 feet deep, Mike Przybycien told the Common Council Finance Committee. The hole opened up May 5 after days of rainy weather combined with the weight of the truck.

The city had to call in an outside contractor for his equipment in order to repair the hole. “Our mini excavator that gets eight feet, at best, couldn’t do it,” Przybycien said. “Better to call in a contractor once in a while than buy a giant excavator.”

Dunkirk DPW provided most of the manpower on the job because the contractor was short-staffed, Przybycien added.

“Thank God the city police were on scene in like two seconds, and no one else drove over the hole,” he said.