By Tom Mark

Sinkhole Site Still Being Monitored

Oct 11, 2017 | 3:00 PM

It appears repairs to a sinkhole on Highway 97 next to Polson Park in the spring have held up.

Highways District Manager Jack Bennetto says an inspection of the work was done in the last two weeks and no failures are expected.

But Transportation Ministry engineers will take a closer look at the culvert itself.

“There’s actually three different styles of culvert in there that have been installed over time as the width of the highway has changed, so the older ones have some weaknesses that the newer pieces don’t.”

The inspection will focus on those older pieces that had some thin-wall rust to see if they need to be replaced.
Bennetto says the Ministry’s bridge area manager inspected the work recently.

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“He advises that the integrity of the work we did was good. He has done his evaluation and feels the integrity is good, and it’s good as is, meaning no failures expected.”

Bennetto says engineers will now inspect the older sections of the galvanized culvert to see if they need to be worked on.

“That’s for them to recommend, and they’re will be all kinds of options.”

Bennetto says the next inspection won’t impact traffic.

After that, it would depend on what work, if any, needed to be done.

Highway 97 had to be shut down at the bottom of Hospital Hill after a sinkhole four feet in diameter emerged in the one of the north bound lanes May 30.

by Tom Mark