LOCAL

Highland City sinkhole still receiving grout as county tries to stablized front yard

Lakeland Ledger

County crews have filled a sinkhole that opened up in Highland City on Jan. 20 and hope to have it stabilized by next week.

Up to 1,000 cubic yards of sand and grout has been poured into a Highland City sinkhole, which is not expected to be stabilized at the earliest until next week, the county said.

Polk County is trying to stabilize the sinkhole at 3657 Yarborough Lane to avoid damage to the roadway and allow the homeowners back into their house, according to Paul Womble, director of Polk County Emergency Management.

A neighbor walking a dog on Jan. 20 first noticed the sinkhole, Womble said. The neighbor then knocked on the homeowner’s door to alert them. Since then, the homeowners have been staying with family members.

The sinkhole, which was 12 feet across when it was first noticed, had since expanded to 22 feet across.

The pit threatened to swallow the homeowner’s driveway and was initially estimated to be 40 feet deep, he said. No structural damage has been found to the house.

Its diameter was about 12 feet when it was first spotted but grew to 22 feet across, just a couple of feet from the road and within the Polk County right of way. An assessment by a geotechnical crew with Madrid CPWD of Bartow began on Jan. 22.

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The process of filling the sinkhole started Jan. 23 with 630 cubic yards of sand, Womble said. Once the front yard appeared to be level, geologists with an engineering firm bored holes at three strategic locations around it and found voids deep underground. They also used ground penetrating radar to find the crevices as far as 100 feet below ground.

As of Thursday afternoon, those voids had received about 400 cubic yards of grout, Womble said. The county had subcontracted with Earth Tech of Tampa for up to 510 cubic yards of grout, which is like concrete. The material can firm soft soils below the front yard and the voids.

Up to 1,000 cubic yards of sand and grout has been poured into the hole.

As the county continues its efforts to fill the cavernous opening, Yarborough Lane had been reduced to one lane and restricted to local traffic, but it has since been opened for traffic in both directions.

Womble gave the Polk County Commission an update Friday on the stabilization project during its agenda review session in Bartow. County Manager Bill Beasley told commissioners that the project could be between $300,000 to $500,000 once completed.