Massive Pipe Breaks Through the Road in Knoxville, Tennessee
Discovered March 10th
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All Shrewsbury Drive resident Dora Gafencu can do is look across her street Thursday night, and see all the damage caused by the recent rainfall.

"Car is making a big 'boom boom' and I'm coming back from the church and the big hole was other there," she explained.

Earlier this week, a massive pipe broke through the road across from her house, causing Shrewsbury to close. Steve King of Knoxville Public Works said the heavy rainfall was a factor to this problem.

"We have a old pipe that historically rusts out and we don't use that kind of pipe anymore," he said.

Public Works is also focusing their cleanup efforts on Timothy Avenue, near the Knoxville Zoo. The stormwater caused several sinkholes to pop up. Crews said until the dry weather comes, they cannot do much to alleviate the problem.

"Detour people around and I understand that we have the new concrete pipe delivered and we hope to get a crane here soon to set it in the trench,"" King added.

Knoxville is more than 1" above the average rainfall as of March 10.

In Blount County, crews had a number of power outages to deal with. Alcoa Electric said about 500 outages were reported Wednesday into Thursday; many of those were in the Townsend area.

"Knocked out power and 12 to 15 trees (fell on power lines)," said Alcoa Electric's Trevor Morgan. "The Wildwood area, the Laurel Valley area (were affected)."

Meanwhile, while the power is back on, all people can do is wait for crews to start working on the roads, and bring life back to normal.

"Maybe tomorrow?" laughed neighbor Gafencu

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Sinkhole swallowed two parked cars near the Humboldt Bridge in downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin - March 12th

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City crews are working to ensure that a sinkhole near the Humboldt Bridge does not widen, Milwaukee Department of Public Works spokeswoman Cecilia Gilbert said Sunday.

The 10-foot deep, 625-square-foot hole, caused by a water main break, swallowed two parked cars Saturday night.

Gilbert said traffic is back to normal in the area around the paved ramp that connects the bridge to Riverboat Road, adjacent to Stubby's Pub & Grub restaurant, 2060 N. Humboldt Ave.

The two cars remain in the hole. The city is making arrangements to get a crane to extract them, Gilbert said.

Nobody was in the cars and nobody was injured.

Milwaukee Police reported that the water main break caused several other breaks and flooding throughout the north side of the city. The break occurred around 8 p.m., when residents reported low water pressure.

Gilbert said the main was 42 inches, a large size.  Source

 

 Sinkhole Closes One Lane Of 14th Street NW - Washington, DC

Discovered March 12th

The westbound lane of 14th Street between F and G Street NW has been closed to traffic due to a sinkhole.
 
DC Department of Transportation spokesperson John Lisle says the collapse of the road happened around 10:30 AM and that it appears to have been caused by a broken 6"water main.

DC Water says crews are currently repairing the water main and that some customers may experience a disruption in water service until repairs are complete.

DC Water officials estimate repairs to be completed and the street reopened by midnight.

 

Sinkhole Repair Closes East Knox Road - Knoxville, Tennesse

Discovered March 11th

A sinkhole caused by a broken water line will force the closure today of Stony Point Road in East Knox County.

Jim Snowden, with the Knox County department of engineering and public works, said his crews determined the sinkhole near the road was caused by a Knoxville Utilities Board water line.

The Knox County E-911 Center was alerted about 7:30 a.m. of the sinkhole at 1980 Stoney Point Road near Stoney Point Baptist Church. That's near the intersection with Thorn Grove Pike.

Snowden said the hole wasn't in the road, but was weakening one lane that has been closed.

Both lanes will be closed throughout the day, Snowden said, to allow KUB crews to excavate the pipe and repair the roadway. He estimated the road will be reopen by late this afternoon.

 

Sinkhole on Judson Street and Pioneer Way - Gig Harbor, Washington

Discovered March 9th

The City of Gig Harbor continues to investigate the cause of the sinkhole at the intersection of Judson Street and Pioneer Way.

According to Public Works Superintendent Marco Malich, his crew responded to the site after a citizen member notified the city around noon on Wednesday.

He credited the public for reporting the problem before the asphalt fell through completely.

"It could have caved in," he said "It was good that we got on it as quick as we did."

The sinkhole temporarily shut down Judson Street in front of Key Bank and one of the lanes on Pioneer Way.
During the investigation, the crew drilled a 10-by-8 hole and almost 10 feet into the ground to determine the cause.

Although the exact (cause) is still unknown, Malich said sinkholes typically occur when utility pipes are installed, and there isn't enough soil compaction under the road. He also said a punctured storm line could cause the land to depress.

Once the water flow in the basin decreases on Thursday, Malich said they will go down a nearby manhole to inspect further damage.

"From looking at the structure from the above, it does appear that we could have some watering issues that we're going to be taking care of."

In the meantime, he said the road is sealed, and it is safe for drivers to travel down Pioneer Way.

 

Sinkhole Opens on Brockton Street - Brockton, Massachusetts

Discovered March 8th

Bob Monaghan wakened to a loud boom on Monday morning – then saw an oil truck stuck in a sinkhole on Conant Drive.

The truck had been on its way to Monaghan’s raised ranch to fill the oil tank, but it never made it as its wheels got stuck in thick mud oozing from underneath the pavement.

The 8:15 a.m. incident led police, fire, DPW crews and two large cranes to the cul-de-sac on the city’s West Side to remove the truck from the deep rut.

“The most amazing thing was they put a big yellow strap around the truck and literally picked it up like a big baby,” said Monaghan, 58, from the living room of his home on Monday.

Mark Willis, the truck driver, said he had a sinking feeling – after his truck couldn’t go any further.

At first, Willis thought all the tires on the passenger side went flat. Then, the asphalt started shooting out from underneath the truck, he said.

“When I looked down, I was like, ‘Holy cow.’ The truck just sank,” said Willis, 50, of West Bridgewater. “I mean, it was just all muck.”

Monday afternoon, bright red street cones surrounded a large patch of Conant Drive where the sinkhole appeared. Large areas of brown mud seeped through cracks in the asphalt.

After the truck sank, crews pumped out about 17,000 pounds of fuel into another truck to lighten the load so that cranes could lift the vehicle out of the hole.

“We’ve certainly on driveways had some issues, but I don’t recall ever having had a vehicle fall into a road, ever,” said Jim Bicknell, owner of the Weymouth-based Alvin Hollis & Co.

He said the vehicle checked out “completely fine” for its weight limit.

Michael Thoreson, Brockton’s Department of Public Works commissioner, said he’s not sure exactly why the sinkhole occurred.

“It could be water underneath the pavement. The pavement just gave way,” Thoreson said.

Last year, the city saw a couple of similar incidents, where water ran underneath the asphalt top and “kind of erodes the bottom,” he said.

“Another issue could be a private subdivision where the road wasn’t built to specification ... over the years that breaks down,” he said.

City crews are assessing damages on Conant Drive, he said.

It was unclear on Monday when the street would be fixed, since Conant Drive is a private road and is not eligible for state or federal funding, Thoreson said.

“We’ll figure out what it looks like to fix, see what we got in the budget and see if we can get it fixed,” he said.

Shelley Monaghan, who lives on Conant Drive, hopes that happens soon.

“We’re on a cul-de-sac. I don’t know how fast it’s going to get fixed,” she said.

 

Large Sinkholes Cause Street Closures in Glendale and Phoenix (Arizona)

Discovered February 28th

A giant sinkhole forced the closure of northbound 67th Avenue at Camelback Road in Glendale Monday morning.

There were already restrictions in the area because of the construction on Camelback Road. That construction has been going on for some time, but now the huge sinkhole, probably caused by recent rain, is making the situation worse.

The sinkhole is about 12 feet wide and several feet deep. It’s right in the middle of the intersection.

According to the Glendale Fire Department, calls about the hole started coming in Sunday afternoon.

Drivers were able to avoid the hole so no injuries were reported. As a safety precaution, crews checked the area for gas leaks. There were no problems with that.

There’s no word when the hole will be fixed and the street reopened.

Drivers were being advised to use 59th or 75th avenues as alternates. While Camelback Road is open, drivers looking to avoid the situation completely might want to consider Indian School or Bethany Home roads.

A second sinkhole was reported on Seventh Street at Peoria Avenue in Phoenix. That hole is reportedly up to 15 feet deep and was caused by a water-main break. Seventh Street is restricted in the area; one lane is getting by in each direction. Cave Creek Road is the alternate route for that one.

30-Foot-Wide Sinkhole Along Bike Path - Middletown, OH

Discovered March 14th

The city will spend about $265,000 to fix a 30-foot-wide sinkhole off of Sixth Avenue.

City Council passed emergency legislation Tuesday to appropriate the money from the sewer capital fund to repair the large hole, which is located along a grassy edge of the bike path. The sinkhole is about 15 feet deep and formed because of holes in the top of a corrugated sewer interceptor pipe, according to Public Works Director Dave Duritsch.

Heavy saturation from several days of rain caused the ground above the pipe to sink through the holes Monday and be flushed away. Duritsch said the pipe is about 60 years old and “beyond its reasonable life span.”

No homes are directly connected to the pipe and the incident has not caused a blockage. A bid by SK Construction indicates it will take at least $265,000 to replace the pipe — which stretches about 1,000 feet underground between two manholes. But Duritsch said given the age of the pipe, it’s possible more damage could be found that would increase costs.

Construction is expected to begin immediately. Residents living on Sixth Avenue should not be affected.

Because the sinkhole and subsequent damage to the pipe and bike path were not anticipated replacements, Duritsch said the city will stall plans to replace sewer linings on pipes off Yankee Road for at least another year.

The fix should be covered by the about $1.3 million in the sewer fund and will not result in an assessment to nearby homeowners, Duritsch said.

Many of Middletown’s sewer and water pipes are aging and Duritsch said it is difficult to assess their condition because they are underground. Regarding funding to repair roads, Duritsch said there is little money available to be proactive with pipe replacements.

Councilman Josh Laubach said the city needs to map out plans to set aside money to make infrastructure repairs, and he hopes to figure out ways to allocate more money for roads and sewers in 2012.

“This potentially could be a really big issue down the road,” he said.

Sinkhole Causing Headaches In Manchester, Connecticut

Discovered March 17th

A sizeable sinkhole in Manchester is causing trouble much longer than expected.

Crews have been working on the sinkhole since Thursday afternoon. People who live near the busy crossroad bordering East Hartford, Manchester and South Windsor are finding that the easiest way to get around the area is on foot.

The town of South Windsor is making the repairs because it was the town's 24-inch sewer line caused the 15-foot-deep hole.

The initial belief was the pipe was going to be replaced and the road patched up by midday Friday. But crews keep finding more and more of the sewer line needed to be replaced.

"We're hopeful that we get 10, 15 feet down, and we'll be able to find pipe that is structurally sound," said Michael Gantick, of the South Windsor Department of Public Works.

The good news is that no one has lost sewer service because of sinkhole, and this line serves customers including the Buckland Hills Mall area nearby.

"We have these large pumps, and we basically have these pipes across the road to the next manhole using gravity so there's no interruption," Gantick said.

Officials said the best-case scenario was for the repairs to be finished by Saturday. The worst case was for repairs to be completed sometime Monday.

10 Foot Deep Sinkhole in Knoxville, Tennessee
Discovered March 20th

Crews are working to fix a large sinkhole that opened up Saturday night in Claiborne County.

The the hole is 9 by 9 feet wide and 10 feet deep. It opened in the northbound lane of Highway 25 E two miles outside of Tazwell.

One northbound lane is closed, traffic is being directed around it.  TDOT is working on the scene. They do not know when the road will be fixed.

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Sinkhole in Soquel (Monterey), California
Discovered March 24th

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"This is Monterey Avenue.  Santa Cruz County Public Works told us the sink hole was caused by a culvert-- which was so full of water-- it overflowed and eventually made the road above it... collapse.

"The good news for people living there, the sink hole is at the the *end of the street and did not affect traffic."

Batesburg, SC  My daughter was going over the train track coming back from food shopping and saw this pothole with a cop standing over it dazed and confused.  It's about 10 feet from the tracks They certainly can't blame this on weather of any kind.  Today was the 1st day of drizzle in a couple of weeks, no water mains near the area, not due to too much traffic as this is a rural area.  By the time I got there the officer had put up a small barrier.  The hole is about the size of a beachball but the sunken cracking around it is about 3 feet around.  Interesting as we get closer to the tearing of the New Madrid.

30-ft Deep Sinkhole Opens Near Elementary School - Orlando, Florida

Discovered March 30th

Lake County school officials are filling a 30-foot deep sinkhole that opened last night at Sorrento Elementary School.

School employees noticed around 9 p.m. Thursday a nearby retention pond that had been filled by this week's heavy rain went bare.

"The retention pond magically emptied," school-district spokesman Chris Patton said.

Officials then saw the sinkhole near the school bus loop about a football field away from the main building. There was no damage to the bus loop.

As a precaution, buses unloaded students this morning at the parent dropoff zone in front of the school.

Officials hope to fill the hole within an hour or two, Patton said.

"We're pretty lucky," he said, because the county owns nearby property and had some dirt to spare. "They're letting us use that dirt," he explained.

No injuries were reported, Patton said. The area where the sinkhole appeared is fenced off.

Sorrento Elementary opened this school year. There are 780 students enrolled there.

Sinkhole Opens Up in Tarpon Springs, Florida

Discovered April 2nd

A sinkhole has opened up along a street in Tarpon Springs. Witnesses say it's about about five to six feet deep and about 10 feet wide and it keeps growing.

South Disston Avenue was waterlogged in the storms earlier this week and now the sinkhole has opened up.

Jessica Canary's mother lives in the neighborhood and says it's the first time she's seen a sinkhole up close in person. Canary says, "I would have never expected it here in Tarpon. I live in Holiday. Holiday - New Port Richey sure - but not here."

Canary says she's never seen the neighborhood flood like it did this week either.

Large Sinkhole Opens in Atlanta, Georgia

Discovered late March 2011

Slideshow

A sinkhole large enough to scare away the boldest economy car reopened on Mary Street in Southwest Atlanta on Saturday.

Neighbors told CBS Atlanta the hole has been there about a week, and that city crews came out and covered it with two metal plates.

Saturday, one of the plates fell into the hole, and crews came back out and blocked the street off in both directions until it could be repaired.

30-Foot Deep Sinkhole Opens in Bartow, Florida
Discovered April 1st

Crews are filling in a sinkhole that opened in Bartow after storms pounded the city last Thursday.

The sinkhole opened Friday morning in a fenced water retention area in the Summerlin Oaks apartment complex at 980 E. Church St.

Some residents were curious about it and interested in the efforts to fill it, but said they didn't see it as much of a threat.

"It's not near any of the apartment buildings are anything like that," said Carolyn Simmons, who has lived at Summerlin Oaks for two years. "The only thing that concerns me is the chance that it might happen somewhere else in the complex."

One resident said she didn't know about the sinkhole, and another said she was worried about the potential for other problems because she's seen small cracks in her walls around the windows.

"I wondered if that could be happening because there are sinkholes under the building," said Stephanie Williams, a resident at Summerlin Oaks since 2008, "but the geologists looked at it and said it was just the building settling."

Phillip Madrid, a civil engineer and sinkhole specialist with Madrid Engineering in Bartow, said heavy amounts of water flowing through an area designed for stormwater retention can lead to a sinkhole.

"If there's a void in the limestone, and water is flushing through the sandy soil above that, the sand and water can wash into that void," he said.

The sinkhole measures 25 feet wide and stretches about 30 feet deep, in the gully of a long, narrow stormwater retention area along the western boundary of the apartment complex.

Summerlin Oaks has a trash compactor and a storage building near the sinkhole site, but none of the apartment buildings appears to be in danger.

Crews with Certified Foundations Inc. in Lakeland, which has been hired to remediate the sinkhole, began filling in the hole Monday.

Officials said the process must be approved by the Southwest Florida Water Management District because the sinkhole lies in a watershed area, according to a news release.

Dangerous Sinkhole Appears in Red Deer, Alberta
Discovered April 6th

Warm sunshine is flushing out an ugly hazard on the streets of Red Deer.

Early Wednesday morning, as pavement began to warm, what had started as a small pothole opened into a water-filled, car-swallowing sinkhole on 43rd Avenue, about half a block north of 32nd Street.

Crews were at the site, getting ready to start repairs when another hole opened just metres away.

Estimated at four metres or more deep and big enough around to swallow a car, the first hole had started as an innocent-looking pothole, near a maintenance cover in the middle of the street.

An underground hole had started with a water line leaking underneath the street, said Darren Hilsendager, an operator in the water distribution department of Environmental Services.

The leak, caused by fatigue in the pipe, had softened earth and gravel around the water main while filling the space with water, said Hilsendager.

Frost at the surface had held the pavement in place as the hole developed.

As the frost began to thaw, the pavement gave way, he said.

Water service has been shut off to 18 homes in the immediate area until the leak can be fixed.

Hilsendager hopes to have repairs completed by 9 p.m., including fixing the leak, filling the hole and patching the pavement.

It can take six to 24 hours to fix this type of hole, depending on what the crews find when they get in there, said Hilsendager.

“It’s a bit of a treasure hunt.”

A more permanent repair will be performed in summer, when there’s no more frost in the ground.

It is not uncommon for sinkholes to develop from underground leaks, said Hilsendager. There’s no way to find them until the pavement fails, said Hilsendager.

“It’s just pipe fatigue that, over time, it just happens. This is not a normal appearance, but I’ve seen some like this before. We’ve had a few this winter that have been holes this size.”

Fortunately, no vehicles have been caught, he said.

Sinkhole Opens in Worcester, Mass

Discovered April 12, 2011

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A water main break has caused a sinkhole in Worcester, Massachusetts.

The sinkhole is about five feet by six feet on Millbrook Street between Byron Street and Merton Street.

Witnesses say one car was stuck, but it has since been towed away.

There is a police car on the scene, blocking the road. A section of the road has been closed.

Water has been shut off. People in the area may get rusty water or no water pressure while repairs are made.

Huge Sinkhole in Woodland, California

Discovered April 16th

The hole, located at the corner of Branigan Avenue and Fredericks Street, was first reported late Saturday when it was small enough to cover with a construction cone - not large enough for the department to schedule repairs, Woodland Infrastructure Superintendent Tim Lloyd said.

By Sunday it had grown to take up almost two-thirds of the lane, forcing the department to redirect traffic.

Officials are still uncertain what caused the hole but they have a theory, Lloyd said. About 16 feet below the ground, they think an eight-inch water pipe broke. Above that, at some 12 feet below ground level, is where the water table lies.

The groundwater may be flowing into the broken pipe and carrying earth with it, taking away the asphalt's support, he said.

"If the pipe separates, the groundwater flows into the pipe and takes the material with it, and it kind of builds on itself," he said. "The more it flows, the more it carries."

As of Monday morning the hole appeared to have stabilized but officials are expected to widen it so they can drain it and check the pipe. It was not immediately clear when Branigan Avenue will reopen.

Sinkhole Swallows Downtown Street - Edmonton, Alberta
Discovered April 18th
A sinkhole swallowed up a portion of a downtown road near 96th Street and Jasper Avenue, after a watermain break Monday afternoon.

Two nearby apartment complexes were without water as Epcor crews worked to repair the broken main Monday evening, spokesman Scott Lundy said.

Portions of Jasper Avenue and Grierson Hill Road were closed as crews worked, Lundy said. Traffic was rerouted along 95th Street or 100th Avenue.

The water main was expected to be repaired by late Monday night. Traffic delays will continue until after the hole is filled on Tuesday and is repaved by city workers this week.

Another Sinkhole Appears at Fore Ranch - Ocala, Florida

Discovered April 22

Kim Twist, manager of the Fore Ranch community association, stands near a sinkhole that opened up Friday in the Red Hawk community.

 

Another sinkhole has opened up at Fore Ranch, in a retention pond into which water was being piped from an earlier sinkhole that is being repaired.

Residents said the first of two underground chimneys appeared in the Red Hawk area's retention pond on Thursday, and the new sinkhole opened up Friday morning.

Workers with Geo-Tech of Ocala and Croft Contracting Inc. of Citrus County were on scene Friday. Croft workers used sandbags and dirt to plug a culvert that was bringing water from the old sinkhole they were fixing in the Saddle Creek area.

It was not immediately clear if the new sinkhole was caused by the pumping or by rain earlier this week.

"They are pumping from Saddle Creek to Red Hawk," said Geo-Tech Vice President Dave Cappa. "But it could be the chicken or the egg since we had that rain."

At one point Friday morning, Kim Twist, manager of the Fore Ranch community association, asked Cappa if she could get anything for him.

"Yes," he said, "a helicopter."

She asked him why.

"To pick this place up and move it," Cappa said, and he laughed.

As for the next step, Cappa said: "We'll get the design engineer involved and then call Swiftmud (the Southwest Florida Water Management District)."

Sinkhole Closes Street Near Terre Haute, Indiana

Discovered April 22nd

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A large sinkhole in Brazil, Indiana has one street closed and residents waiting for action.

The hole measures around 20-feet across and 4-feet deep.

You can actually see the water from the sewer system rushing underneath the roadway.

With more rain in the forecast, officials say it's only going to get worse.

"It's old and its not built to hold the water we got today due to all the parking lots and everything," said Jerry Robeson, the Waste Water Supervisor.

"There's no way for the water to get away from this place. It just stands here," said Brazil resident Jim Nelson.

Now, if you live in Brazil, city leaders say this hole should not affect your water service.

Officials say they're talking with local contractors to find a solution to this sinking hole.

Road Closed Due to Sinkhole in Shenandoah County, Virginia

Discovered April 18th

The Virginia Department of Transportation says it will be a while before a sinkhole in Shenandoah County is fixed.

The sinkhole appeared April 18 and closed down Oranda Road.

The road is still closed and officials say it will remain that way for an unknown amount of time.

Officials say a nearby quarry and recent severe weather caused the sinkhole to form.

Chaz Weaver, VDOT District Materials Engineer, says, "Limestone dissolves in water over thousands of years, which leaves voids in the rock and the soil above, and those voids tend to fail the soil above and move upward to the surface and then when they do move up to the surface and you get a hole. That's what we refer to as a sinkhole."

VDOT crews have made some progress fixing the hole but they are waiting for the ground to dry fully before they continue their work.

Weaver says this is one of the largest sinkholes he's ever seen.

He says, "Typically they are pretty small, pretty shallow. This one is a pretty big area so a lot of excavation, thus why it's taking several days to fix."

More rain affecting the area this weekend could delay work to fix the hole.

Detours have been set up so drivers can avoid the sinkhole.

 

Update:  http://www.nvdaily.com/news/2011/04/oranda-road-sinkhole-patched-up...

Massive Sinkhole Growing In Anderson Township - Cincinnati, Ohio

Discovered April 23rd

A sinkhole in a parking lot off Beechmont Avenue is growing and taking the land around it down with it.

The daily doses of rain are making a big problem in one Anderson Township parking lot even bigger.

A sinkhole has opened up in the back of Plants by Wolfangel in the 8100 block of Beechmont Avenue.

News 5's Andrew Setters said the hole started a few days ago, but has expanded to consume almost a quarter of the parking lot, along with some of the landscaping company's displays, plants and fencing.

The hole is now more than 20 feet deep and extends back into the wooded area behind the parking lot.

Setters said the company told him that the hole can't be fixed until the rain stops, and even then, may take three to four weeks to repair.

Sinkhole Swallows Car - Kansas City, Missouri

Discovered April 26th

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A sinkhole at the intersection of 43rd Street and Roanoke Avenue in Kansas City, Mo., had both streets shut down for several hours Tuesday night into Wednesday morning.

Water crews arrived just after 10 p.m. to assess the damage.

A car trying to turn onto Roanoke hit the unseen sinkhole and caused it to cave in. The car was stuck in the hole and had to be towed out.

Neighbors said they started to see water trickling up from the man hole early Tuesday evening from the manhole where the sinkhole occurred. The hole grew larger until that vehicle caved the crater in.

Police on the scene said cracks near the sinkhole probably indicate a much larger problem underneath the pavement.

City officials advised those taking the intersection to use an alternate route because it was expected to be closed for most of Wednesday.

Large Sinkhole in Marshall County - Memphis, Tennessee

Discovered April 27th

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Water can make the road dangerous in a number of ways and can completely destroy a road in a number of minutes. Flooding and heavy rains caused a major sinkhole in Marshall County.

Melissa Hooker was taking her kids to school, when she saw something odd in the road.

“I thought it was water at first, so I was just going to keep going,” said Hooker. “Then I saw it was just a big gaping hole in the road.”

Where the double yellow line runs out, so does the ground, the roadway has collapsed. Debris stopped up a covert and the water pressure caused the roadway to collapse.

No Way Out

Trouble is the road Melissa lives on, Valley View Road, is a one way in, one way out. Now there is no way out, and 9 other families live on her street. They have no way out.

“Nah I’m stuck, I’m going to have somebody starting tomorrow- if they don't get it fixed today- I’m going to have one of my crew come pick me up and take me to Memphis to work,” said Hooker.

Water Main Destroyed

To make matters worse, when the sinkhole collapsed, it destroyed the water main. So now, there is all this water, but no one on her street has any in their homes.

“We have no water, right now. We had to go down to a neighbor’s house that has a well,” said Hooker.

Melissa couldn't get her kids to school because of the sinkhole, and her neighbor Alvin Hinson is having to hike out to get anything he needs.

“Well I’m just walking up to the store now, to get the stuff my wife needs, it's about a half mile, I’m going to walk up the road and then back to the house,” said Hinson.

Waiting on Repairs

Marshall County is trying to fix the sinkhole, but Alvin believes there is a good chance someone could run off in it before it's fixed.

“Well, buddy if they run off in there, that's their stupidity, I mean seriously, Ray Charles could see that hole if he runs off in it, that's his problem,” said Hinson.

Currently, there is no way around the sinkhole, nothing to do, but wait for it to get fixed. Until then, there is nothing to do but wait, and walk to the store, or walk back to the house.

Large Sinkhole Closes Cambria Co. Road - Johnstown, Pennsylvania

Discovered April 27th

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Public Works officials in Johnston are asking drivers to avoid a well-traveled road after a major sinkhole

The sinkhole was about 6 feet by 10 feet wide and at least 25 feet deep.

There aren't many homes on Hill Place in Old Conemaugh Borough, but many drivers use the road as a shortcut to get to Frankstown Road.

One resident said this is at least the third time the road has caved in, and the city's Public Works director said crews have repaired it before. The director said the Bureau of Mining told crews to fill the hole with stone, compact it and repeat the process. But the stone clearly disappeared.

Bill Fisher, who has lived on Hill Place since he was a child, said the sinkhole isn't far from his front door and said there is an old mine there.

"The other day, my wife and myself were sitting in my house and we heard a noise. It wasn't thunder. It was some kind of rumble," Fisher said.

He also said the sinkhole isn't the only thing he's worried about.

"There's a 66-inch water main that runs over top of the mine. What I want to know is what happens if that mine caves in under that water line," he said.

On Wednesday, crews closed the road at both ends until they get more instructions from the Bureau of Mining.

Another Large Sinkhole in Middleton, Ohio

Discovered April 28th

Another 30-foot-wide sinkhole has been found near the shores of the Great Miami River.

The city is still working to get cost estimates to repair this latest sinkhole, which is about 15 feet deep. The hole is in the flood plain near Windsor Avenue and Maple Street.

Scott Tadych, assistant engineer in the Public Works Department, said a collapsing sewer pipe caused the cavity. The pipe carried storm water and sanitary sewers in the area. The city is using a bypass pump to move fluids around the broken pipe section until repairs can be made, he said.

No homes should be directly impacted by the sinkhole, Tadych said.

This is the second sinkhole this spring because a pipe collapsed.

SK Construction has been working to replace the corrugated sewer pipe that corroded and caused a sinkhole near 6th Avenue in March. Tadych said the flooding and continual rain have slowed completion and may increase costs of the estimated $265,000 repair.

In both cases, Tadych said the pipes were 50 to 60 years old and were reaching their normal life span. Both are part of Middletown’s combined sewer system, which he said is older and represents about a quarter of the city’s total sewer system.

“There is a lot of old infrastructure in town. You are coming up on the normal life span of these pipes. But that doesn’t mean they’ll all need to be replaced right away,” Tadych said.

City Council will likely have to approve funding to make the repairs. Members will meet at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday in council chambers, One Donham Plaza.

Other Sinkhole in Middleton

12 Foot Wide Sinkhole Opens On Highway - Hickory, North Carolina

Discovered May 19th

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A sinkhole opened on U.S. 70, SE, at about 2:45 p.m. Thursday across the street from the Valley Hills Mall.

The hole was about 12-feet across and about 18-feet deep. It destroyed a portion of the outside lane on the westbound side of U.S. 70 and the main entrance to Judges BBQ Express.

Judges BBQ General Manager Shelby Ozmun took the situation in stride and said his restaurant would remain open during its normal business hours. Then he changed the sign in front of the restaurant to read, “Ask about sinkhole special.”

“The special is $2 off the Big Pig Combo – that’s eight ounces of pork, two sides and a choice of hush puppies or a roll,” he said.

As Ozmun entered the restaurant, workers with the state Department of Transportation and the city of Hickory worked to determine the extent of the damage and what caused the hole to open up.

“There was a drain box here that collapsed,” said a DOT employee. “It’s not that big of a deal it’s just a problem because of where it’s at.”

Something eroded the soil from under the catch basin and when it failed, it ruptured the sewer line, said Assistant Public Services Director Kevin Greer of the city of Hickory.

The city of Hickory used a pump truck to collect the sewage east of the rupture to minimize the spill.

An 8-inch water line and a natural gas line were exposed when the hole opened up, but were not ruptured.

The city closed the westbound lanes and routed traffic through the turn lane. The eastbound lanes remained open.

“No one was hurt when the hole opened up,” said Mandy Pitts of the city of Hickory.

An excavator arrived on the scene at about 5:30 p.m. and began pulling away pieces of asphalt from the hole’s edges to stabilize it.

Engineers are working to determine the sinkhole’s cause before beginning the work to repair it.

Sinkholes are not new to Catawba County.

The most famous sinkhole in the area is the one that opened on the property that used to hold Buffalo's Southwest Cafe on U.S. 70. That sinkhole first opened up in August 2002, in the parking lot of the restaurant, swallowing a Corvette. The sinkhole was repaired, but reopened in July 2005.

Sinkholes Have Residents Fleeing Quebec City Neighborhood

Discovered mid-May 2011

Officials in Quebec City are trying to figure out what's caused dozens of sinkholes to appear in a north-end neighbourhood.

They served evacuation papers on Wednesday to about 15 homes and one business in the city's Charlesbourg district.

Almost 40 holes between five and eight metres wide appeared in the last week. The holes were mostly found in a field, but another was in a resident's driveway. One is big enough to fit a car.

"The field is is like, there is nothing, no trees or anything and you see everywhere some holes, some deeper than others, like 30 or 40 holes everywhere on the field. You can see this is not normal. You can see this is a problem on this land," said city spokesperson François Moisan.

As of Thursday afternoon, only half of the approximately 40 affected residents had left their homes.

"The city is very prudent and ask people to leave their house because there is some danger. We don't know what kind of danger, we don't know if it's a real threat to their property but we prefer take no chances and ask them to leave," said Moisan.

Moisan said the field where the holes are appearing used to be the site of a sandpit, and he said experts will be on the site Friday to find out what's causing the sinkholes.

Crews Work To Repair Massive Sinkhole - Saskatoon, Saskatchewan Canada

Discovered May 30th

City crews are working to fix a massive sinkhole at the intersection of Massey Drive and Confederation Drive in Saskatoon.

Motorists in west Saskatoon are steering clear of a sinkhole big enough to swallow a small car.

The hole was caused by a water main break, at the intersection of Massey Drive and Confederation Drive.

It measures about 2.5 metres wide, 3.5 metres long and 1.5 metres deep.

City crews are on the scene today fixing the sinkhole. A spokesperson says they hope to have repairs finished today.

Sinkhole Closes Road, Causes "Significant Property Damage" - Allentown, Pennsylvania

Discovered May 30th
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Sinkhole reportedly runs from the street to a home that will most likely have to be demolished.

ALLENTOWN, Pa. -- A sinkhole popped up in Lehigh County on Monday, causing what officials are calling "significant property damage".

The sinkhole formed in the 100 block of James Street in Allentown as a result of a water leak.

James Street is closed in the area.

Fire officials said code enforcement was notified because it caused "significant property damage".

A city engineer told a 69 News crew on the scene that a home in the block potentially has significant damage.

Lockport Hit With Massive Sinkhole - New York
Discovered May 28th

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Lockport Police Chief Larry Eggert and other city officials examine a sinkhole on South Transit Street on Tuesday afternoon. The sinkhole is about 12 feet wide and 20 feet deep, possibly caused by a faulty sewer line, Mayor Mike Tucker said.

LOCKPORT — A faulty sewer line 25 feet beneath the street may be the cause of a sinkhole — 12 feet wide and 20 feet deep — that appeared Tuesday afternoon on South Transit Street, Mayor Michael Tucker said.

South Transit Street from Lincoln Avenue to Gaffney Road could be closed for the next few days until the sinkhole is mended, Tucker added.

Tucker said city officials were contacted about the sinkhole by a South Transit Street resident around 1 p.m. Tuesday, where Lockport Police initially closed northbound traffic on South Transit Street. Later  Tuesday the entire road was closed due to safety concerns, Tucker said.

Lockport Police Lt. Shawn Kilroy said police will be directing traffic through detours around the city. All vehicles will be diverted to Route 31, or Gaffney Road or Summit Street. Only local traffic will be allowed to drive through the closed zoning area, and Lockport Plaza will also be open.

City of Lockport Director of Engineering Norm Allen said the sinkhole originated between the sidewalk and the curb on the east side of South Transit Street just north of Lincoln Avenue, but continued to cave into the northbound lane.

Tucker said the City of Lockport is working with the State Department of Transportation in fixing this area.

“It’s the city’s responsibility to get this fixed, but in most cases the state gives us money to fix it,” Tucker said. “Right now, our main concern is peoples’ safety so we’re asking everyone to stay away from the sinkhole.”

Tucker said South Transit Street from Lincoln Avenue to Gaffney Road could be closed until the end of the week, effecting about 10,000 commuters in that area.

No one was reported injured.

Deep Sinkhole in Detroit Neighborhood - Michigan

Discovered June 3rd

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DETROIT, Mich. (WJBK) - A massive sinkhole in Detroit is creating a dangerous sitaution. It's several feet deep! Neighbors on Ohio at Eaton, on the city's west side, used a rake to show us how deep the water is. The entire rake, from top to bottom, fits into the sinkhole filled with gushing water.

There are no barricades warning people to stay away.

Fox 2 called Detroit Mayor Dave Bing's office on Sunday. A spokesperson said they would send a crew out on Monday. Neighbors tell us a watermain broke last week and the water department put up barricades, but the barricades were actually swallowed up by the sinkhole.

"Anybody can fall in there, not knowing," said one neighbor. "The sidewalk still looks like it's strong, but we're looking at the water push the sand from under it which is pushing the foundation from under the sidewalk. If you walk across the sidewalk, you could fall into this hole, that's how dangerous it is."

Midtown Manhattan Sinkhole Stops Rush Hour Traffic, Baffles Investigators - New York

Discovered June 6th

A midtown sinkhole snarled rush hour traffic Monday night  on W. 57th Street between 8th and 9th Avenues - its second appearance in a year.

No one was injured when the near five-foot by three-foot hole appeared mid-block around 2 p.m., officials said.

The NYC Department of Environmental Protection, was on the scene, but could not explain the sinkhole. They said no leaks had been detected and promised to investigate the problem.

"Last year there was another hole that was much smaller in the same place," said the owner of West 57 Wine and Spirits across the street.

Shop owners said that bad weather and too much traffic are tearing up the city roads.

"The roads this year are much worse than last year, probably because of all the snow," said the owner of a luggage shop across the street.

Australian tourist Michael Atkins joined the crowd of people who stopped to snap photos at the scene.

"I've never seen anything like this in Australia, that's for sure," said Atkins.

Other pedestrians were less surprised.

"The city seems to be falling apart," said one passerby, who declined to give his name.

A recent Daily News investigation found that its taking city workers longer to fix potholes than a year ago as more and more open up.

Sinkhole Opens Up Under Home - Tampa, Florida

Discovered early June 2011

Wayne Suttner, with Integrity Public Adjusting, represents the Everett Avenue homeowner who appears to have a 25-foot sinkhole under his house.

As of Monday afternoon, the 25-foot hole, which has eaten away at the foundation of the home, was under investigation by sinkhole specialists and claims adjustors.

Everett Avenue, off Landover Boulevard, is located in an area of Spring Hill prone to sinkholes.

The homeowner declined to talk to Hernando Today .

Neighbor Teresa Morales said she has three holes on her property and has open claims with the insurance company.

"I'm scared to go in my own backyard," Morales said.

The other neighbor, J.F. Martin walked over to the property to see the commotion.

Martin said he hasn't seen anything on his property but living so close to one that appears to be a big one scares him.

John Thompson, a homeowner and advocate of sinkhole protection rights for citizens, said he was waiting for a geologist to confirm the void on the property is indeed a sinkhole.

Thompson has criticized recently passed state legislation that prohibited homeowners from submitting sinkhole claims to their insurance company unless there was structural damage to the home.

The bill was designed to cut back on fraudulent sinkhole claims.

But Thompson argues that it leaves too many homeowners without protection and the Everett Avenue case is a prime example.

Massive Sinkhole Closes Road - Charlotte, North Carolina

Discovered June 7th

Motorists might want to avoid Runnymede Lane near Myers Park High School during at least the first part of Wednesday, due to a broken water line.

The Charlotte Department of Transportation is limiting traffic to one lane in each direction, because of the broken line near Michael Baker Place.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Utility officials say a 24-inch water line is broken, and it caused a sinkhole to develop across Runnymede Lane. At last check, authorities say it will be at least Wednesday afternoon before the repairs are made and the lanes reopened.

The sinkhole caused the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools to change the routes of some buses, as the sinkhole is at the rear entrance to Myers Park High School and near the front of Alexander Graham Middle School.

The break was reported about 7:15 p.m., and police were forced to close all lanes of Runnymede Lane, between Barclay Downs and Selwyn Avenue, for part of the night.

City Park Closed Indefinitely Due to Sinkholes - Tarpon Springs, Florida
Discovered June 17th
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TARPON SPRINGS, FLORIDA-- A popular city park in Tarpon Springs is shut down indefinitely after possible sinkhole activity was found in the ground.

On Friday night, people using Ed Dorsett Park reported feeling the ground move and very loud noises coming from the park.

Firefighters responding found several areas of sunken ground in the softball field's outfield, along with a number of new cracks in the tennis and basketball courts.

City officials and geological experts surveyed the area Saturday morning and decided to keep it closed until at least Monday.

The park is located just yards away from a home on Disston Avenue where two sinkholes opened up on Thursday.

"It was a little frightening.  That's the closest I've ever lived to a sinkhole.  We've been here two years and to see one that close and it all over the place like that, makes you nervous," said neighbor Mike Sawyer.

The park was surrounded by yellow caution tape on Saturday.

Police have also been driving up and down the streets around the park to make sure no one goes inside.
Disston Avenue is also the same street where a six foot deep sinkhole opened in April after flooding from heavy rains.

Before that, neighbor Gina Crocitto says she had never seen one in the 10 years she's lived in the area.

"There's just sinkholes opening up everywhere and they're huge!" she said, "it's really scary."

Giant Sinkhole in Clermont County, Ohio
Discovered June 21st

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Crews will spend several days repairing a sinkhole that opened up after Tuesday's heavy rain and storms.

The sinkhole is located in the Ashley Meadows neighborhood in Mount Carmel.

The hole started as only about 4 to 5 feet wide, but has grown to about 20 feet wide and about 8 to 10 feet deep on Wednesday morning.

The road is currently blocked, affecting about 40 homes that are located near the hole. Residents are having to drive in the grass to make it around.

Crews will first have to repair the storm drain and piping before the refill the hole and repave the road. It will take several days to fix.

Massive Sinkhole Collapses Busy Street - Cleveland, Ohio

Discovered June 20th

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The collapse of an aging underground water/sewer tunnel section is to blame for a yawning chasm that opened Monday on Carnegie Avenue east of downtown Cleveland. 

A segment of the 84-year-old brick waterway beneath the busy street gave way, eroding the roadbed and eventually causing the asphalt surface to cave in. The result is a hole big enough to swallow an SUV, although the abyss didn't claim any drivers before workers cordoned it off. The cavity is in Carnegie's center turn-lane near E. 65th St. 

James Owens, The Plain DealerOfficials are uncertain what caused the tunnel segment to crumble, but suspect it was age. 

"With all the rain we're getting this spring, you could speculate the water and everything else caused some bricks to get loose," said Alan Seifullah, a spokesman for Cleveland Public Utilities. Such failures are "not that rare. It's the same with water main breaks. We have an aging system." 

Engineers are still assessing the extent of damage to the stormwater/sanitary sewer using remote cameras, Seifullah said. The collapse of the three-foot-diameter tunnel segment likely will require its replacement with a concrete pipe. If workers find no additional problems, the repairs will take about one week, he said. Crews will have to refill the 16-foot-deep cavity and repair the road's surface. 

Traffic is reduced to one lane in either direction while the work is underway. 

While the culprit in this case was a defective pipeline, sinkholes can form from a variety of causes, both manmade and natural. 

Water is often the mechanism, whether from a broken main, an underground aquifer or stormwater runoff. If subsurface rock is water-soluble - such as limestone, carbonates or salt beds - the flow gradually can hollow out a void. Until the cavity reaches a critical size, the surface above remains intact, giving little warning of collapse. 

Sinkholes Swallow Parking Lot - Cincinnati, Ohio
Discovered June 21st
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The sink holes that are swallowing up the parking lot at two Anderson Township businesses are growing larger, after heavy rains on Tuesday.

The problem began with a hole that first developed behind Adams Heating and Cooling back in April and spread to the neighboring business, Plants by Wolfangel. It quickly swallowed up equipment and asphalt. And yesterday, when new rains overflowed into the area, the pavement caved in even further and cut off the plant shop from the nursery, washing away roses and other valuable plants.

It's believed that beneath the holes is a damaged eight foot wide drain pipe. The owner of Adams Heating and Cooling wouldn't go on camera today but told Local 12 Reporter Angenette Levy that he has been working since the sinkhole appeared to fix the pipe.

Huge pumps, meanwhile, are trying to keep up with the water filling the holes.

Sinkhole Swallowing Building - Knoxville, Tennessee
Discovered June 22nd

An old building in New Tazewell is set to be demolished after a sinkhole opened up underneath it.

On Monday, officials noticed cracks forming on the side of the building on First Street.

It sits next to the city hall and houses some of the street department's equipment.

On Wednesday, ten-foot wide sinkhole opened up, leading to more cracks.

"If the sinkhole opens up anymore, it could definitely fall. So we're keeping everybody out. And there are still things inside, but I guess that will just have to stay," said Jerry Hooper, New Tazewell Building Inspector.

Officials have declared the 90-year-old building to be a safety hazard and they will tear it down as soon as they hear back from an insurance company.

Sinkhole in South Dakota Claims Two Lives
Discovered June 22
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Heavy rains triggered a sinkhole which swallowed two vehicles and ended up claiming two lives. Torrential rains led to high water near the highway and that water weakened the road, creating the sinkhole. Water poured over the road and two drivers attempted to cross the flooded roadway, not knowing that the ground beneath it had been washed out.

Steve Manger – Lyman County Sheriff: “This is the first time I've ever seen anything like this before its just amazing the force of mother nature it's just a sad, very sad deal.”

The 56 year old driver of the van was a Chamberlain woman, found dead inside her vehicle. The driver of the car was a 61 year old woman from Lower Brule. Her body was found four miles down stream.

ANOTHER Massive Sinkhole in Tarpon Springs - Florida
Discovered June 16th


TARPON SPRINGS — After the appearance of a 50-foot-deep sinkhole, S Disston Avenue and nearby Dorsett Park will remain closed because boring samples and ground-penetrating radar revealed "anomalies" underground that must be repaired or further studied.

The city called in a geotechnical engineering firm, Tierra Inc. of Tampa, last week after a sinkhole opened up in the street in front of 709 S Disston Ave. on June 16. Tierra also was asked to examine depressions in the soil at Dorsett Park that were noticed the following day.

The city filled in the Disston Avenue sinkhole, using 25 dump-truck-loads of sand. However, the street can't be reopened to traffic because of what Tierra found when it examined the area.

The company drilled in a 150- by 90-foot area, probing more than 50 feet below the roadway surface. The tests found several indicators that limestone below the ground had collapsed.

Sinkholes in Florida often are caused when limestone lying deep underground collapses and the soil above it funnels downward, leaving a crater on the surface.

Before the road will be safe for travel, the ground will need to be injected with a special grout that will increase the density of the soil and make it more resistant to collapse, Tierra wrote in a report to the city. Tierra estimates the work will cost roughly $35,000.

"We anticipate that the roadway will be closed for approximately one more week until these remediation efforts are complete and have been thoroughly inspected," Tarpon Springs spokeswoman Judy Staley said Friday.

The city doesn't know when popular Dorsett Park, about a block away from the Disston Avenue sinkhole, will reopen. A preliminary examination of the park by Tierra showed "subsurface anomalies," not just beneath the visible depressions there, but also in other parts of the park where there are no depressions.

Drilling and other tests will be done next week to get a better idea of what's happening beneath the surface at Dorsett Park, Staley said. In addition to several depressions, the city found cracks in the park's tennis court. The park is now off-limits to visitors.

Another property also was affected by the sinkhole activity on June 16. Several sinkholes opened in the yard of 709 S Disston Ave., where Nathaniel Crawford, 90, and his wife, Virginia, 83, had lived since 1957. The Crawfords and several relatives fled the house as the ground opened up.

The city has advised the Crawfords not to move back into their house yet.

The Crawfords had sinkhole insurance and are waiting for information from their insurance company about the cost and feasibility of repairs.

Massive Sinkhole Blocks Access to 40 Homes - Cincinnati, Ohio
Discovered June 21st


Crews are working to repair a sinkhole on Laurel View Drive in Union Township.

Service Director Matt Taylor said the hole was created after a 48-inch pipe broke during the rain Tuesday, June 21. The hole is 20 feet wide and 18 feet deep, he said.

The Union Township trustees passed four resolutions during the regular meeting Thursday, June 23. Trustee Tim Donnellon said the resolutions are for four separate things – declaring the situation an emergency and authorizing the township to pay for supplies, materials and equipment.

Each resolution is for an amount not to exceed $50,000, but it could cost more than that combined, Donnellon said. All together, the amount can be no more than $200,000.

“We believe the final cost will be around $50,000 for contracted service,” said Ken Geis, township administrator.

“We don’t know exactly what the cost will be … but the (resolutions) have been approved by the law director,” Donnellon said.

Construction crews already were working Thursday and a temporary road had been built for residents. Laurel View Drive is the only way to reach about 40 homes. The homes are off Tina Drive and Bells Lane, near Crosspointe Baptist Church.

Geis said the resolutions also eliminates the need to bid the work, since it’s an emergency.

Trustee Matt Beamer was glad to see the administration’s fast action.

“This needs to be fixed ASAP,” he said Thursday. “I was out there twice yesterday and it needs to be fixed for the safety of our residents – for driving and for police and fire.”

An estimate of how long the project would take was not immediately available.

@ Fernando - The presence of Planet X is causing the Earth's core to roil, heating the oceans and land from the bottom.  While the oceans expand as the water temperature rises, the Earth's crust will also.

"What is missing from this equation is swelling of land masses, land surface under the water, as odd as this concept might sound. Metal is known to expand when heated, but the concept of hot mud being larger in volume than cold mud has not been considered, as it has never been a concern of man’s. Heat is particles in motion, and they bump atoms about so that expansion is the result. All land surface will be heated due to the swirling of the core, the heat to the extent that it can escape into the land surface doing so. The result? This surface will expand, crevasses opening, flaky layers of rock separating, and buckling occurring that creates spaces in the interior of rock. Under the oceans, this equates to a higher ocean bottom, with the water needing to go someplace, and as the bottom is moving up, the sea level can only go up also. Thus, where this cannot be computed by man, being a missing dynamic in his statistics, this is the explanation for why our 675 foot rise does not compute given the known factors - water volume and increase per degree of heat rise."  ZetaTalk

Large Sinkhole Discovered in Fairfield Township - Ohio
Discovered July 2nd

FAIRFIELD TWP., Ohio -- A Fairfield Township intersection was expected to be closed for several days after a water main break caused a large sink hole.

Workers for the Butler County Engineers Office closed the intersection of Hamilton Mason and Morris Roads late Saturday night.

Barriers and road closure signs were placed in the area to help drivers get around the closure.

Repairs to the road were expected to be made sometime this week.

Growing Sinkhole Threatens Marietta Neighborhood - Georgia
Discovered April 2011


MARIETTA - Faye McBee, a grandmother of three who lives in a cozy one-story house at the corner of Wright and Henderson streets, received an alarming message in April from the man who cuts her grass.

"He said, 'there's a hole under the driveway,'" said McBee, who lives with her Pomeranian, Libby.

"I got down and started looking under the driveway on my belly, lying on it, and it was a cavern under there," she said.

The earth beneath her concrete driveway was gone.

"It's a wonder it didn't collapse," she said. "It was just concrete and air."

McBee called the city, which sent a crew to remove the suspended portion of concrete and filled the crevice with gravel.

Workers discovered that a four-foot square storm drainage pipe runs 11 feet under her driveway and the house next door before heading under Wright Street and dumping it in the creek across the street.

Portions of the culvert had collapsed, said Dan Conn, the city's public works director.

Conn said the culvert would have been installed after her house was built, which McBee said was around the time of WWII.

"It couldn't take the water flow and pressure from all these businesses," McBee said, pointing to the 150-bedroom Henderson Arms senior housing high-rise building located behind her. "When they put that (culvert) in, there might have been five houses on this street and vacant land. Nothing else was here. It was pecan groves. And then they built all this stuff ... There's just too much water coming into this for this old thing to hold."

A spring storm washed all the gravel down the pipe and into the creek, she said.

So McBee called the city again, and the city again came out and filled the crevice with gravel again, in addition to offering to repair the culvert on two conditions: The first is that both McBee and her neighbor, Brenna Bentley Bitler, a Mount Paran Christian School counselor, had to sign an agreement not to hold the city liable if the repairs didn't work. The second condition was that they had to pay the city $2,896.

McBee objected.

"I don't think it's mine," she said. "It's not my responsibility. It's an old, decrepit 100-year-old culvert that somebody should have known was under there."

A second thunderstorm then washed out the second batch of gravel. With each rain, the hole gets worse, she said.

"All the neighbors are saying, "'Oh God, you're going to clog up the creek. You're going to flood the whole neighborhood down here,' so I told Mr. Conn 'don't put any more gravel in the hole,'" she said.

Brenna Bitler's husband, Brian, said he and his wife have moved to his house in Fulton County to escape.

"Every time it starts raining, I really start sweating," he said. "At some point the foundation of the house is going to give way."

Now that the crevice has gotten worse, the city wants $13,424 to repair the pipe, Conn said.

Bitler wants to accept the deal. McBee doesn't.

"I don't think it's right that we should have to pay a dime, and I don't think it's right that we should have to sign this piece of paper," McBee said. "But on the other hand, I don't want these kids (Brian and Brenna Bitler) ... to have to suffer."

Councilman Johnny Sinclair, who represents the area, said she needs to sign the indemnity agreement and wouldn't support an agreement between her and the city if she didn't.

"Even if we fixed it, we can't take ownership of the pipe or the problem," Sinclair said. "The city didn't build the pipe, nor did we build the houses, but we want to do everything we can to help the homeowners, because eventually if the problem spins out of control it will threaten the public infrastructure."

City Councilman Philip Goldstein said he is also opposed to the city fixing the culvert if McBee doesn't sign the waiver.

"What she wants the city to do is fund and guarantee that her problem is going to be taken care of, and it's not the city taxpayers' responsibility," Goldstein said.

McBee, who has multiple sclerosis, said she can't take much more.

"I just can't do it anymore," she said. "I'm thinking about saying, 'OK, just put a lien on my house,' because I have no money. I don't have $3,000. I don't have 3,000 cents."