Courtesy of the Tennessee Department of Transportation
A TDOT officials looks into the sinkhole on Wednesday that opened up along U.S. Highway 127 in the Cold Springs community north of Pikeville, Tenn. TDOT crews began repairs on Thursday and say there has been no damage to the nearby highway
Repairs began Thursday on a sinkhole that opened up near U.S. Highway 127 north of Pikeville, Tenn., on Wednesday, officials said.
The gaping hole exposed at least one water line, an apparent underground stream and could have threatened the roadway if it had grown, officials said.
The repair work consists of filling in the bottom of the hole with large rocks, then “continue filling the hole with rock that will get progressively smaller until the sinkhole is completely filled and shored up,” Tennessee Department of Transportation spokeswoman Jennifer Flynn said. The repairs might be completed in a day, she said.
Flynn said the hole was discovered by a TDOT maintenance worker who reported the find to the district maintenance supervisor and state geotechnical officials in Nashville. Officials monitored the hole until crews started repairs, she said.
“It’s a very deep hole. It’s approximately 30 feet deep,” Bledsoe County Mayor Bobby Collier said on Thursday.