Hillsborough County Florida is using a mix of expanding polyurethane foam and conventional cement grout as a more cost effective means of filling sinkholes. Officials say the mix uses 30 to 40% less grout adding up to a 30% cost savings. The article in the Tampa Tribune did not indicate the contractor or product name that they are using but apparently several agencies in California and other states are using the same material. Story via ASCE SmartBrief.
Failures
Johannasburg Sinkhole Opens after Tunnel Collapse
A 12m long sinkhole opened up on Oxford Road in northern Johannesburg South Africa after a partial tunnel collapse in the Gautrain rail tunnel being constructed underneath the road. Eyewitness accounts say there was a broken water pipe flooding the sinkhole, but no word on which occurred first. The road is expected to be closed for 2 weeks. Gautrain representatives said the tunneling would resume after geotechnical/geological investigations into the collapse are completed, which could take "several weeks". (Photo credit: Werner Beukes, Sapa via News24.com)
Via The Star (Zambia) and News24.com (Johannesburg?)
Geologic Hazards
Ohio Sinkhole Devours Four Football Fields Of Land, Stretch Of State Highway 516 Near Dover
A sinkhole the size of 4 football fields has opened up in Dover, Ohio. The sinkhole is located near a Lake where an Asphalt company has been dredging for sand some 50 feet below the […]
Failures
Hayward Baker’s Emergency Sinkhole Repair, US 24, Colorado
Hayward Baker has been working 18-hour days for Colorado DOT to repair a sinkhole on US 24 caused by an abandoned railroad tunnel. The link below takes you to a photo gallery on Hayward Baker’s […]