Part of The Pony's work route involves delivering mail to the local DMV office, which sits precariously close to a large sinkhole that opened up a year or two ago. He sent me a picture back then, when it was not covered.
Friday, The Pony sent me new pictures. The sinkhole had been fenced off, and covered by a piece of fencing as well. The Pony is always eager to see how much it has spread. Like after a heavy rain. We haven't had rain lately, but that sinkhole is expanding.
"The hole by the DMV keeps getting bigger. I'd honestly suggest not driving on that road beside the funeral home."
"Okay."
"Dang!"
"Yeah! When I looked in and saw how undercut one side was, I decided I Should Not Stand That Close!"
It has definitely grown wider than the piece of fence that covered it. Here are some pictures from the past, showing how it started and grew. In reverse order.
There it was, in June 2022, when they'd just put up a fence around the area. Old daycare playground behind it. The daycare was in operation until this hole appeared.
That's from the other angle, showing the DMV parking lot in the background.
But wait! The whole issue started in July 2019! I got my own pictures, driving by on the road The Pony has now told me to avoid. This is when they'd capped the sinkhole with a concrete slab, which then fell in. So an orange web fence was put up.
It's a street that's used a lot. I think The Pony only walks down here. He also sent me a video of his feet walking up to the sinkhole on Friday, which really showed the extent of the enlargement. Too bad I couldn't load that video. My phone said I exceeded the limit of data, even though it was just a few seconds long.
I'll miss taking that route to go to the drive-up mailbox, and to get to the road I take sometimes to get to Sis-Town on errand days. But if avoiding that gives The Pony one less thing to worry about (mainly ME, falling down into a flooded lead mine), then I will gladly comply.
Yes, please avoid that area, not only for The Pony's peace of mind but for mine too.
ReplyDeleteWell, the whole town sits atop the lead mine, but there are other streets that will keep me away from this enlarging opening! I'm glad I don't work at the DMV!
DeleteThe whole town is on the mine? Somebody planned poorly.
DeleteMany towns in our county sit atop the lead mines. Mining started in the early 1700s. I suppose nobody was doing any "planning" as the towns sprang up on the surface back then.
DeleteIt is hard to believe this has been going on so long. The Pony's advice seems to be sound, which the ground surely is not!
ReplyDeleteAt least the company that owns the mine is enlarging their fenced area as the hole expands, heh, heh! I'm sure it's a lot cheaper to "block it off" rather than hire engineers to fix the problem.
DeleteIt's possible there's a conflict over who's responsible, the mining company or the owner of that piece of property. When you buy real estate, it specifically states "Surface Rights Only" on the contract.
I seem to recall in reading about this particular sinkhole that the mining company had originally sealed the opening, but then smoke started billowing out from a chemical reaction. Then the cover was gone, and the hole was back. It's been a while, and I don't remember the specifics. It was the mining company who took the responsibility at first.
So ... what do they plan to do about it? :/
ReplyDeleteProbably put a bigger piece of fence across it! I don't know. It's not even in the news anymore.
Delete