The ginormous sinkhole on Rt. 29 is back. It’s nine feet deep, seventeen feet wide, and it’s getting bigger. Southbound 29 in front of the Seminole Commons shopping center is down to one lane. Presumably it’s caused by the same drainage problems that caused it last year, indicating that repair crews probably didn’t fix the problem, just its sinkhole symptom. VDOT intends to get the road opened in a couple of days. I think we’d give them a whole week if they could make sure it wouldn’t happen again next year.
News and meta-news about Charlottesville, VA, since 2001.
6 Responses to “Rt. 29 Sinkhole Returns”
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Sideblog
Police announced this afternoon that their investigation into what was initially believed to be a fatal fire on Rugby Avenue is now a homicide investigation. #
The Virginia Supreme Court has denied George Huguely’s appeal. His second-degree murder conviction will stand, WRIC reports. #
In a carefully worded story, and not citing specific sources, WTVR reports that forensic evidence belonging to Jesse Matthew Jr., the main suspect in the disappearance of Hannah Graham, matches forensic evidence collected during the investigation of Morgan Harrington’s 2009 murder. #
In the wake of Hannah Graham’s disappearance, and the evidence that came from private security footage, city officials are revisiting the question of installing security cameras on the downtown mall. #
Both Charlottesville Registrar Sheri Iachetta and former Electoral Board member Stephanie Commander have turned themselves in to the police on
foursix and four felony counts of embezzlement, respectively. #Ten years ago, the National Institutes of Health budget doubled and schools like the University of Virginia built massive new research facilities. A decade later, those buildings remain largely underutilized. NPR visits UVA in this story on the effect of federal binge and spurge spending in the sciences. #
In 2012, Council approved a new student housing complex on West Main—now some council members are questioning whether what they were shown matches what was built. #
The Architectural Review Board has approved a bike-themed mural on West Market, below the McGuffey Art Center, although at least one member expressed concerns that it might look like the bicyclists were riding away from Charlottesville’s downtown. #
City Police Chief Tim Longo is meeting with city leaders to work on protocols regarding the use of military surplus police weapons in Charlottesville. #
A 100-year-old Colonnades resident received military honors for her service in the WWII Women’s Army Corps #
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I did seem impossible they could fix it without closing the whole road. Who can stop the rain?
Who can stop the rain?
Well, now
I may be wrong about this, but shouldn’t roads be able to withstand rain? Sure am glad no one has been hurt by the sinking road. Yet.
Especially in our area, where we’d be unlikely to have a natural sinkhole. Now I-81, known for its sinkholes, is in the Valley, and it’s mainly limestone over there, which forms caves easily.
When will VDOT/Commonwealth of VA start levying fines against developers who damage the public infrastructure? Poorly executed drainage systems for the Hollymead Town Center caused the conditions conducive to sink hole development, both last year and now. Not to mention the huge liability presented by motorists passing over as it caved in, there’s the expense of repairing the damage. VDOT just fixes it, again and again, and says “No problem” to United Land Corp. and Hollymead Town Center? If i accidentally cut a fiber optic cable, I’d personally be liable for over $10,000 per day in fines until it’s fixed. Why are the developers at Hollymead Town Center left off the hook? And, before the project was done, where did all that run-off water go? There was grassland, trees, and natural contour of the land before. No major run-off issues most of the time. Now, so we can drive and park at the Target, there’s hundreds of acres of denuded land, with poorly (humanly) designed waterways, and drain lines that suck down our highways. Make the developers pay for their transgressions already!
Interesting proposition, jay jay. I have to say, at first blush, I really like it. But I also favor a corporate death penalty — that is, shutting down businesses who knowingly kill people — so I’m inclined to favor that sort of thing.