PETERSBURG, Va. — Part of a building collapsed in Old Towne Petersburg after storms brought a deluge of water to the historic city Thursday night.
All of the water coming downstream had to pass through a portion of Brickhouse Run, a centuries-old stormwater tunnel that is partially exposed.
“The first layer of the tunnel is from the late 1700s,” Dean McCray, the building’s former owner, said. “Then 4 foot was built higher in the 1800s as stormwater increased. In the 1900s they built 4 foot higher.”
Flooding from the storm exposed a section of the tunnel and eroded the structural integrity of what is known as the old DMV building, which dates back to the 1970s.
The exposed section of tunnel has been out in the open since the fall of 2021.
WATCH: Look how much rain fell in Central Virginia Thursday
“We finally got our permit issued last Friday,” McCray said. “Our construction team [was] set up to start Tuesday, the day after Labor Day.”
City leaders and firefighters surveyed the damage Friday morning.
The delay in fixing the problem comes after multiple federal, state and city agencies were involved in the planning process.
Now McCray said there is a good chance this building will have to come down due to the damage.
For property and business owners on Bank Street, the ongoing issue with the exposed section of the storm water tunnel is a concern.
“I don’t know how bad the erosion will affect everything, especially the street and all that because it doesn’t go direct under my building but it’s not too far from it,” Spiro Georgogianis said.
Susan Steward, who owns the Apothic Company, said this has been going on for years and not just a few months.
“So why aren’t things already fixed?” Steward asked.
Petersburg City Manager March Altman acknowledged there are "few hoops that had to be jumped through from a regulatory perspective with DCR, FEMA, DEQ, EPA.”
Now the goal is to remove the debris from the exposed section of the tunnel because of more rain in the forecast Sunday.
“We want to make sure there’s nothing that creates a damming effect, so if that water comes we can handle it,” Altman said.
The sidewalk on Bank Street is closed to the public as a safety precaution. Part of the street may also be closed Sunday because of the potential for more heavy rain.
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