TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) — Trouble continues with the 60 foot wide by 65 foot deep sinkhole that opened Jan. 28 at the Capital Pines Mobile Home Park in Tallahassee.
Crews filled in the hole on Monday, but the property owners still have to test for other spots that could potentially open up. It's the last step in securing the property after a sinkhole swallowed part of a mobile home and condemned two others.
The owners of the property plan to have a geotechnical engineer conduct that test by the end of next week.
Stephen Shanley with Alpha Geotechnical and Testing Services outlined what that process usually looks like.
The first step is finding out just how many sinkholes have formed nearby. Then the engineer will go out for a site visit.
There are a variety of tools to test the soil, from smaller tools that can feel how dense the ground is below to larger tools that can go directly into the ground and measure the depth of a potential sinkhole.
If one is detected, the fix is usually expensive. Most sinkhole repairs start at $10,000.
According to Shanley, sinkholes usually form along straight lines and there are certain areas more prone to sinkholes than others. However, while sinkholes are possible, they're unlikely and most hole issues are usually man-made.
