ST. LOUIS—A series of sinkholes in St. Louis will take weeks to fix, according to the Metropolitan Sewer District.

Police responded to the first hole Friday evening, blocking access to part of Cass Avenue. Another appeared Saturday, closing a lane on Park Place.

The MSD says the sinkholes are more accurately called cave-ins. They’re caused by collapsed brick sewers built over 100 years ago.

The large cave-in on Cass and 18th Street in North St. Louis could take up to a month to repair, according to the MSD. 

“There was too much debris to do a full investigation, so we brought in a contractor to complete the investigation and then begin repairs. They mobilized yesterday and are currently removing the debris,” Bess McCoy, MSD spokesperson told Spectrum News. “They can determine if there are any additional underlying causes, determine the scope of repairs made, and begin repairs…they are still investigating, that estimate could change.”

The utility provider says the smaller cave-in on Park and 14th Street could take up to three weeks. 

“Sinkholes can have many causes, some natural, some related to underground infrastructure, some related to soil conditions or other causes,” McCoy said. “The goal is to always identify these before they happen, but when you're dealing with 100 plus year-old infrastructure, unfortunately, sometimes even between investigations, things like this can develop very quickly."