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Car lot owner on Plank Road looking for help with culvert failure
BATON ROUGE - A sinkhole forming in a parking lot along Plank Road. It's just south of Thomas Road in Baton Rouge. The business owner tells 2 On Your Side the finger-pointing has been going on for several years, and she's looking for answers.
On Site Autos has been operating since 1999. Like any business owner, Kellie Michelli pays attention to what's going on around her.
"We have been forgotten," she said.
Her notes go back to 2022, that's when she first started calling the city about a sinkhole forming on the north side of her business. The hole has gotten bigger with each storm. Below the concrete auto lot, there is a large culvert. It has failed and is no longer doing it's job. It's causing her entire parking area to slope toward the broken concrete.
"It's not safe; it's a problem," said Michelli.
She does the best she can to keep her customers and inventory away from the area, but there's traffic every day. About a year ago, Michelli says the city came out and spray-painted markings around the hole. That paint has since faded.
"They said we have a problem, but once again, nothing was done," she said.
Michelli was under the impression she would be put on a repair schedule. That never happened. In September, she received an email from the city letting her know they identified the culvert to be in the state's right-of-way and it's DOTD's responsibility.
The drainage ditch that leads to the failing culvert is full of debris, old tires, tree limbs, and trash. Since the water can't flow through the culvert, it spills over the parking lot.
As of Tuesday afternoon, 2 On Your Side is waiting to learn more from DOTD.




