Lucinda Hubbard and her neighbors first noticed a problem on their street in early August. First, a square foot area of asphalt started to droop a little in the middle of the street directly in front of her driveway. Soon, a ½ foot hole appeared, perfectly round. Fearful that it might be a sinkhole, a neighbor called Habersham County road maintenance to come take a look. That was more than two weeks ago.
More recently, the hole underneath the pavement has continued to grow, creating a sizable void under the pavement and a second hole now appears to be developing about six feet farther down the street. Inside the original hole, run-off water, or water from some other source seems to be tunneling down the street, underground, toward the second emerging hole. This morning, it appeared a third drooping of the pavement is beginning in yet a different spot.
Hubbard worries about backing out of her driveway directly over the deteriorating asphalt and collapsing dirt. She now drives on her lawn to avoid it and has given her neighbors permission to do the same. “My concern is the hole getting bigger. One day it’s going to be so big that a car’s going to go in there, a tire or something, and cause a lot of damage.”
She’s not alone in her worries.
Looking at the sinkholes this morning, one of the neighbors shook her head and surmised, “Is the whole street going to give way before someone comes to investigate how serious it is and repair it?”
Now Habersham contacted Habersham County Road Superintendent John Stamey who is also concerned about the problem located in the 200 block of Lunsford Street in Mt. Airy. “We did take a look at it a few weeks back and placed an orange traffic cone on top the hole to alert drivers. We’ve been busy with the clean up after the recent wind storm, but promise to go back out today and see what we can do to repair it.” Stamey advises drivers on the street to drive with caution around the traffic cone, to avoid damages to their car, as well as the street before it is repaired.
UPDATE: Buried Stumps Blamed for Sinkholes
Hubbard says she understands county road crews are busy and is quick to point out how much she admires them and the work that they do. She understands the recent windstorm was bad but worries there might be another bad situation, this time in her neighborhood, if the road isn’t repaired soon. “Our road is fixing to disappear on us,” Hubbard warns. After waiting two weeks with no repairs she adds, “This is past patient. We pay our taxes. It needs to be fixed before it gets any worse.”
Meanwhile, those who have to drive on Lunsford are avoiding the hole in the middle of the narrow residential street and keeping a watchful eye on the growing craters nearby. Anyone walking on the street at night is risking a broken leg; the hole is knee deep, and growing larger every rainy day. Superintendent Stamey assures home owners his crew will make a second visit by this afternoon.
