Second sinkhole in a year develops on Montana Drive in west Charlotte

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Bryan Robinson said he left his house this morning to go to his daughter’s graduation. When he came back, he spotted a sinkhole taking shape in the street outside his house. This sinkhole comes a little over a year after a sinkhole that took the city a year to fix.

This new problem sinkhole is in the middle of a busy west Charlotte road right off I-85 and Beatties Ford. The Robinson Family called Channel 9’s Mark Barber because the last time this happened, it took the city a year to fix and threatened their home.

Road crews said this new sinkhole formed because the city accidentally drilled a hole in a culvert when it put a sewer line in under the road.

The first one, which appeared last January, started after a failing drainage system and created a 15-foot hole in Robinson’s front yard.

“I might have my kids in there and my whole house might sink in the ground,” Robinson said. “I don’t know, so I don’t feel comfortable with it. It’s dangerous. They need to get on this as soon as possible.”

Storm crews reported the reason it took a year to finish fixing the first sinkhole was because they were bogged down with a backlog of cases.

Robinson said the repairs for this sinkhole cannot wait.

The Robinson Family still has daily reminders of the effects of the last sinkhole. The foundation of their home sunk in about an inch and split the staircase.

Channel 9 spoke with the city to ask when they will start making repairs to the sinkhole. They reported for now, they are controlling traffic in the area and trying to figure out what they will need to fix the street.

Cox Media Group