A hole at the corner of Patterson Street and Mynders Avenue recently caused The University of Memphis' Police Services to raise barriers at the intersection to keep cars and pedestrians safe.
"On April 11, crews televised and dye tested to verify if it was a sewer related issue," Matoiri Spencer of the Public Works Division of the City of Memphis said. "After confirming that it was a sewer issue, we had the area located for other utilities, which was completed on April 14. In the meantime, a steel plate was placed over it to secure and prevent hazard until repairs could be initiated. It rained Monday, so our repairs began Tuesday."
Repairs are scheduled to be finished by April 16, assuming they go as scheduled as the crews work to stabilize the sinkhole.
Although stories about sinkholes seem to be prevalent such as the one that claimed eight cars at the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, Ky., the blanket term does not necessarily apply to this particular incident.
"In Public Works-Environmental, we prefer not to classify them as sinkholes, but as 'cavities' caused by a defect in a sewer mainline that allows soil to enter the pipe, thus creating a cavity," Spencer said. "They are more common in the older part of the city where the infrastructure is older and subject to more age related defects. When you have any kind of breach to the underground pipe network, a number of things occur such as cave-ins, sinkholes and/or cavities."
While some have dubbed Florida the "sinkhole capital of the United States," sinkholes are common in many Southeastern states, including Tennessee, due to the composition of their subterranean rock deposits.
