Post by L Roebuck on Sept 28, 2005 6:24:35 GMT -5
Sinkholes strike Trinity
By Ronnie Thomas
DAILY Staff Writer
rthomas@decaturdaily.com · 340-2438
TRINITY — An alert Trinity resident possibly prevented a tragedy Tuesday morning by notifying authorities of a sinkhole that caved in the westbound lane of Old Alabama 24.
Jason Bowling, acting supervisor of Trinity's Water/Street Department, said Troy Terry called police about 7:45 a.m. after watching a portion of the road dip under the weight of a passing school bus. Terry lives on Old Alabama 24, about 200 feet from the sinkhole.
Residents of Heritage Estates Mobile Home Park and officials at Jones Fence Co. on Old Alabama 24 also reported two sinkholes each. The businesses are about a quarter mile east of the highway problem.
Trinity Mayor Vaughn Goodwin estimated the sinkhole to be 20 feet deep with a 10-foot radius.
"It slanted under the highway," Goodwin said. "We could have buried a school bus in there."
Another sinkhole formed on the south side of the highway and ran from the ditch to the edge of the road.
Trinity and District 1 road employees spent three hours dumping limestone, or rip rap, from nearby Hoover Quarry into the holes, topped by crusher run limestone. Town Engineer Sonny Wright said workers would apply asphalt after settlement. During the down time, motorists took Tower Street to North Greenway Drive, where they accessed Old Alabama 24.
Goodwin said the sinkholes "rattled a few nerves, and I understand why. I believe we've got everyone settled down now. We had a sinkhole about 50 feet east of this spot several years ago that stretched across the highway. We haven't had any more problems there."
The sinkhole in Heritage Estates stretched across an entrance and exit road to the park from Old Alabama 24. The park property extends to Gordon Terry Parkway, where there is another entrance and exit road. There is no through road and residents living on Old Alabama 24 had to drive into a mobile home lot around the hole while a private employer repaired it with riprap.
Theresa Jones Poludniak of Jones Fence said one of the sinkholes was in front of where an employee parked a truck. She pointed to the tire treads. Her brother, Keith Jones, said the company was fortunate the truck didn't go down. The hole appeared from the surface like a cave, slanting sharply into the ground.
"We had to dig out a load of pipe from a sinkhole about five years ago," he said.
The other sinkhole on the property occurred in the back yard of their sister, Janice Boyd, taking roots from a tree. It formed an almost perfect circle with about a 15-foot radius.
Jones said he plans to rent a backhoe, purchase the riprap and do the repair work.
Wright said that although sinkholes can occur in the area anywhere at anytime, they are more prevalent after a long dry spell followed by heavy rain.
"That's what we've just had, and this is what we got," he said. He categorized the sinkholes "colloquial or stope."
He explained the region is composed of karst typography that stretches from Birmingham to the Ohio River, on the north side of Kentucky. Karst features porous limestone containing deep fissures or pinnacles.
"The underlying bedrock is all broken up." Wright said. "Anywhere there is a pinnacle, the water that penetrates down through the soil hits it and goes down the slope, like water running down a hill. It erodes the soil over the rock, forming a cavity. The cavity eventually reaches the surface, forming a sinkhole."
By Ronnie Thomas
DAILY Staff Writer
rthomas@decaturdaily.com · 340-2438
TRINITY — An alert Trinity resident possibly prevented a tragedy Tuesday morning by notifying authorities of a sinkhole that caved in the westbound lane of Old Alabama 24.
Jason Bowling, acting supervisor of Trinity's Water/Street Department, said Troy Terry called police about 7:45 a.m. after watching a portion of the road dip under the weight of a passing school bus. Terry lives on Old Alabama 24, about 200 feet from the sinkhole.
Residents of Heritage Estates Mobile Home Park and officials at Jones Fence Co. on Old Alabama 24 also reported two sinkholes each. The businesses are about a quarter mile east of the highway problem.
Trinity Mayor Vaughn Goodwin estimated the sinkhole to be 20 feet deep with a 10-foot radius.
"It slanted under the highway," Goodwin said. "We could have buried a school bus in there."
Another sinkhole formed on the south side of the highway and ran from the ditch to the edge of the road.
Trinity and District 1 road employees spent three hours dumping limestone, or rip rap, from nearby Hoover Quarry into the holes, topped by crusher run limestone. Town Engineer Sonny Wright said workers would apply asphalt after settlement. During the down time, motorists took Tower Street to North Greenway Drive, where they accessed Old Alabama 24.
Goodwin said the sinkholes "rattled a few nerves, and I understand why. I believe we've got everyone settled down now. We had a sinkhole about 50 feet east of this spot several years ago that stretched across the highway. We haven't had any more problems there."
The sinkhole in Heritage Estates stretched across an entrance and exit road to the park from Old Alabama 24. The park property extends to Gordon Terry Parkway, where there is another entrance and exit road. There is no through road and residents living on Old Alabama 24 had to drive into a mobile home lot around the hole while a private employer repaired it with riprap.
Theresa Jones Poludniak of Jones Fence said one of the sinkholes was in front of where an employee parked a truck. She pointed to the tire treads. Her brother, Keith Jones, said the company was fortunate the truck didn't go down. The hole appeared from the surface like a cave, slanting sharply into the ground.
"We had to dig out a load of pipe from a sinkhole about five years ago," he said.
The other sinkhole on the property occurred in the back yard of their sister, Janice Boyd, taking roots from a tree. It formed an almost perfect circle with about a 15-foot radius.
Jones said he plans to rent a backhoe, purchase the riprap and do the repair work.
Wright said that although sinkholes can occur in the area anywhere at anytime, they are more prevalent after a long dry spell followed by heavy rain.
"That's what we've just had, and this is what we got," he said. He categorized the sinkholes "colloquial or stope."
He explained the region is composed of karst typography that stretches from Birmingham to the Ohio River, on the north side of Kentucky. Karst features porous limestone containing deep fissures or pinnacles.
"The underlying bedrock is all broken up." Wright said. "Anywhere there is a pinnacle, the water that penetrates down through the soil hits it and goes down the slope, like water running down a hill. It erodes the soil over the rock, forming a cavity. The cavity eventually reaches the surface, forming a sinkhole."