Old Timers in Moraga may remember life Before Chuck, before the rains came. Traffic moved easily along Rheem Boulevard, neighbors waving jauntily to one another, some of them even venturing into the shopping center to buy something from time to time.
And then, whammo. After a biblical eight days of solid precipitation the ground near Autohaus Stuttgart finally said “uh uh” and dropped like a noise-battered soufflé – then-Chief of Police Bob Priebe screaming a warning and townspeople running for their lives (not really, but it was pretty crazy) as the corner light pole at Rheem and Center dropped into the gaping, soggy cleft like a spear, promptly knocking out power and puncturing a gas line. A hasty evacuation followed. Yogurt cups and cheeseburgers were abandoned in place as MPD cleared the area of civilians.
It was just past 5 p.m., March 13, 2016 BC (Before Chuck), and a Moraga town legend was born.
We snapped the photo shown above minutes before Chuck the Sink Hole came to be. If the family in the picture recognizes themselves, check in and feel free to share your memories of the moment. We think we said “hi” as you passed to take a look at the fledgling crater before it collapsed and became a soggy 10-foot-deep canyon.
In the intervening months Chuck evolved from a mere rain hole to a royal pain in the crevasse, re-routing traffic, giving town officials countless sleepless nights (“How are we going to come up with the money to fix this? Bake sales? No… no. Car wash? No, no more water…”). The normally sedate flow of traffic through Rheem Valley became a nightmare as the retail-minded confluence at Rheem and Center began to jam. Tempers rose. Citations were written. A semi-tractor trailer jackknifed in the area trying to avoid the mess.
Months stretched into a year. And more. Chuck was coned off and barricaded, laughing at us from behind flapping yellow caution tape as he became something more than a mere geologic anomaly. Chuck made it personal – affecting traffic patterns, business… lives. Some unkind words were uttered and an intentionally sardonic birthday party was thrown for the town hole when he reached the ripe old age of one year.
And now, finally, Chuck is gone – a memory of a soggier time when the rains came and townspeople found watercress growing in their pockets. It’s over. The town is planning one of those golden shovel-type photo ops later this month to mark the end of Chuck’s hold on the town.
But he’ll always be with us, gone but not forgotten.
I think it’s going to rain today. Just saying.
Good riddance.
Hilarious!
OK, so where does the new concrete conduit end and the old rusted conduit begin. The autohaus? I need to know where I should park my car when I am making a pie run to Nation’s!
@David – Lemon Meringue. That’s all we’re going to say. Lemon Meringue.
Chuck is how I found NEWS24-680. Chuck may be gone, but I’m not from this site. I’m hooked.
@Joe – Hahahaha! We’re like a fungus that way, Joe… we grow on you! Nice to have you with us!
Fun article, JD! I saw your “bridge envy” retweet this morning along with an article from the SmartMoraga citizen group that did a Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon style connection of sinkholes and bridges.
I’m conflicted about the end of construction season and these project completions, mostly because they blow my plans for an Uber helicopter service to get out of Moraga.
@Brentochan – Good morning… and thank you! We like to have a little fun when we can, even while acknowledging that the loss of that key intersection and our Southern Span severely impacted – and continue to impact – many of our neighbors. Let us know when UberChopper gets up and running! We’ve been stockpiling helium bottles and weather balloons in the garage.
U called it on the gold shovel thing.
@Matt – ;-}
When have you known us to be wrong?
Which one of you Chuckleheads came up with Embrace the Chuck? Brilliant.
@Alice – Ha! Thanks! He’s kind of a brilliant dude! At least he thinks he is!