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Neighbors to repair sink hole after Lincoln County says can't help with repairs

By Mark Barber
By Mark Barber

LINCOLN COUNTY, N.C. — A giant sinkhole is threatening to close a residential road in Lincoln County, dozens of families in Denver use to get to work every day.

The county said it can't help with repairs to Hickory Creek Drive.

[ALSO READ: Northeast Charlotte neighborhood riddled with sinkholes, homeowners must pay to fix]

"Their estimate was $40,000 to $50,000 and I don't have that in my back pocket," neighbor Heather Price said.

Price is one of the neighbors who would have to cover the costs to repair Hickory Creek Drive because it is not public -- it's private.

"They told us there was nothing they could do and that's just unacceptable for us," Price said.

When the sinkhole opened up three days ago, the county declared a state of emergency so it could install a temporary logging bridge.

Since the rest of the repairs will fall on neighbors, they found a construction company that will donate gravel to fill the sinkhole.

A local manufacturer is also giving them a new culvert.

The neighbors said they will provide the labor themselves to fix the road.

"We're hopefully to have this done by the end of this week," Price said.

County officials told Channel 9 the neighbors will need to get approval or permits through the Division of Water Quality before making the repairs since a creek runs under the road or they could face civil penalties.

[ALSO READ: As city project backlog grows, so does massive neighborhood sinkhole]

"We're just going to dam it up and stop the water while we fix it. We're going to make sure it's done correctly," Price said.

The county said after neighbors finish fixing the road, the county will not inspect it for safety because the road is private.

Instead, officials said the neighbors should bring in a private engineer to make sure it is safe.

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