Sinkhole Closes Part Of 270 In Montgomery County

I-270 Sinkhole | Photo from anonymous WFMD contributor

Drivers should expect long delays

Gaithersburg, Md. (DG) – Commuters traveling I-270 southbound should expect long delays after a sinkhole materialized in Montgomery County.

The Maryland State Highway Administration (SHA) is reporting the sinkhole developed in the right lane of 270 southbound before Interstate 370.

“The thing right now is, we’re trying to determine the extent of the damage and how much of a repair we have to make. We want to make sure that we don’t just fix the one thing that’s obvious, and then, several weeks down the road, have something else happen which necessitates another closure,” said Charlie Gischlar, spokesman for the SHA.

The two right lanes of the I-270 will be closed for an extended period of time.

Officials are encouraging commuters to use 355 southbound.

“We’re pleading with folks to use your favorite alternate route, if you can’t use Maryland 355, you can telework, or you can also use the public transit, but we’ve got to get in here and get this done so we can get these lanes open as soon as possible,” Gischlar explained.

As of 2019, this stretch of I-270 was used by 190,000 vehicles every day.