The West Virginia Division of Highways says the Star City sinkhole will sink no more.
According to a DOH press release, crews are working to replace a section of drainpipe believed to be the cause of the hole in the expanded parking area of the former Texas Roadhouse location, near Monongahela Boulevard.
“Over the past week, WVDOH crews used a dye test to isolate, then locate the problem. Underground, a small pipe separated which allowed water to leave the pipe and washed-out fines under the fill material, causing the sinkhole,” the press release states.
WVDOH Deputy State Highway Engineer of Division Operations Joe Pack said the work could be completed as early as Friday.
“We want to be sure to move with purpose but also with caution. There are some pretty high-profile utilities in this area,” Pack is quoted as saying.
Morgantown Utility Board Spokesman Chris Dale said MUB personnel were on hand Tuesday morning to assist the DOH by running a camera down through the area in question.
Star City Mayor Herman Reid said he’s glad to see the issue corrected and credited Star City Recorder Steve Blinco for bringing attention to the sinkhole back in November as the town’s representative on the Morgantown Monongalia Metropolitan Planning Organization.
The DOH initially claimed the hole was not within state right-of-way, but ultimately reversed that position.
“The only thing I really know about this whole thing is the [Division] of Highways, finally, and thanks to Steve Blinco and the MPO, it got back to Charleston about this whole thing and they realized, OK, it is on DOH right of way,” Reid said. “It’s not our baby to fix. That’s a good thing.”
Reid said he’s hopeful the repairs will make the former Texas Roadhouse property more attractive to prospective businesses or development.
“Of course we’d like to see something go in there,” he said. “That’s prime property there along the Boulevard.”
Blinco previously explained that he raised concerns about the sinkhole after seeing November news reports of the massive hole that opened along W.Va. 20 in Hinton.
According to the DOH, crews installed a temporary bridge and placed a drainage pipe inside a failed 90-year-old drain to remedy the Hinton hole until permanent repairs can be made in the spring.
The DOH ended up placing about 2,500 cubic yards of fill material in the hole, which ended up approximately 30-feet deep.
