The pavement at the intersection of 11th and ****** streets has had a long-running problem in that it would not hold level. Several times over the years, the sink hole that would develop there was filled with asphalt. That would solve the problem -- for awhile. Just recently more asphalt was induced to the low area and it also sank.
So on June 7, 2006, the Public Works crew went to evaluate the problem. While excavating the area they found that a large tree, complete with branches, had been buried north to south across the middle of 11th Street. Its decomposition over time had continued to create air pockets that in turn caused the street to sink as those air pockets collapsed under the weight of the ground and traffic above.
As you can imagine, it was a shock to find a tree buried in the middle of the street. This is just another example of the strange things that are encountered from time to time in the process of updating the city's infrastructure.
Now, it doesn't say how big the tree was, but this street was once lined with cottonwoods, according to a book on the town that had been written by a local newspaper reporter years ago. There were big floods here in the 1950s that could have probably taken down a large tree, and the sludge could have buried it. My house was built in the 1930s, though, so you would think there would already be a road here (maybe not paved).
Strange little mystery.
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