HINTON, WV (WVNS) — For months a sinkhole has been forming in Hinton and had reached a size that raised alarm for people in the area.

Today, January 9, 2023, WVDOH said they have filled the sinkhole.

Since June 2022 a sinkhole, about six feet wide and 30 feet deep, opened on WV 20 next to the Hinton Police station. The cause was a 90-year-old drain under the road had started to fail causing the ground to cave in.

WVDOH work crews installed a 120-foot temporary culvert and fill material under the road, but heavy rains from Hurricane Nicole on Friday, Nov. 11, 2022, washed out the fill and made the sinkhole worse.

In just two days WVDOH bridge crews installed a temporary bridge beside the sinkhole to divert traffic as crews started the temporary repairs.

WVDOH District 9 Engineer Jim Moore, P.E., said crews were able to install a new, temporary drainage pipe inside the old structure. On Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2023, crews began filling in the massive sinkhole with about 2,500 cubic yards of fill material.

That is almost enough material to fill an Olympic size swimming pool.

Work crews will now top the 2,500 cubic yards of filler with gravel and stone before grading the surface flat to get ready for permanent repairs in the spring. The temporary bridge will remain in place until then.