© 2024 KRWG
News that Matters.
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Transportation Officials: Carlsbad Sinkhole To Take Two Years To Fill

 

CARLSBAD, N.M. (AP) — A massive sinkhole on the southern edge of Carlsbad and along a busy intersection will take officials two years to fill.

The Hobbs News-Sun reports New Mexico Department of Transportation engineer Tim Parker said last week the $43 million project will proceed 24 hours a day, seven days a week, as workers fill in the sinkhole with 300,000 to 1 million cubic yards of materials.

He said 26 to 28 wells will be drilled over the sinkhole in a grid pattern which will be used to pump materials into the sinkhole.

The sinkhole is a former brine well, which was closed in 2008 when the ground was deemed unstable. Brine wells hold saltwater for oil and gas operations and leave behind underground caverns.

Parker says around 42,000 vehicles a day pass through the junction.

___

Information from: Hobbs News-Sun, http://www.hobbsnews.com