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Large sinkhole swallowing sidewalk, neighbors fear road is next

1 year 9 months 2 weeks ago Tuesday, June 07 2022 Jun 7, 2022 June 07, 2022 6:58 PM June 07, 2022 in News
Source: WBRZ

BATON ROUGE - A large sinkhole has opened up above a box culvert bridge in Sherwood Forest. It's so bad, neighbors are worried it'll cause the road to cave in and contacted 2 On Your Side.

"I'm afraid the street's going to fall in," Joel Thibodeaux said. "It doesn't look safe at all."

Thibodeaux and Rodrick Montgomery live near the hole on Voohries Drive in Sherwood Forest. The dirt has washed away under the sidewalk and left it suspended in the air. Orange plastic fencing is posted around the hole, which is now creeping under the street.

"It's really scary," Montgomery said.

Scary, because they drive on the road to get to their homes. Montgomery also fears someone could get hurt.

"Little kids are always playing around and I'm afraid if they fall in that hole, bump their head, nobody will find them for a while," he said.

They say the City-Parish has been out a few times to put up the fence and fix it if it falls. Montgomery says he spoke to someone in March and was told the hole would be taken care of. Since then, the hole has grown in size and he fears it's no closer to being repaired.

The erosion is also affecting the opposite side of the road, where it looks like the ground's integrity is also compromised.

"It needs attention, it needs a lot of attention," Montgomery said.

Tuesday evening, the City-Parish said the sinkhole on Voohries is on the to-do list, and they are actively working on getting the item moved up in line. 

In Sherwood Forest, there are 88 open requests for service regarding drainage, erosion, flooding or sinkholes.

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