Sinkhole depression in Waterfront Park, Beaufort Marina to be repaired after holidays
Another sinkhole that's developing in Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park will be repaired after the holidays, city officials say.
The sinkhole is at the corner of the Beaufort Downtown Marina parking lot and the park, where a path makes a sharp turn near a brick promenade. The sinking bricks have not become a hole yet, but orange cones have been placed around the bricks to warn pedestrians.
David Easton, concerned someone might trip, raised the issue during a meeting of neighborhood representatives last week.
"It's getting worse and worse," he said.
Public works director Isiah Smalls said his employees are monitoring the depression and will temporarily fill it if needed. He said the ground was stable for people walking in the area.
Two main types of sinkholes develop in Waterfront Park, which extends 36 feet into the Beaufort River where fill has been placed underneath, Smalls said. The most common occurs when stormwater pipes under the park break because of pressure from incoming tides and heavy rain, or because the ground has shifted. The second type occurs when water creates gaps between the seawall panels.
In both cases, water erodes the soil, creating pockets that eventually collapse. When that occurs, public works employees determine whether it is a hole they can excavate and fill themselves with a sandy mixture of cement, or if it demands a contractor.
When it can't do the work itself, the city calls a contractor such as Palmetto Gunite Construction Co., which injects a substance into the ground to solidify it. Smalls expects the city will take that route with the developing sinkhole. Public works intends to explore the depression further after the holidays.
It costs about $2,500 if the city fixes a sinkhole in-house, and $5,000 to $6,000 if it hires a contractor. Paying for those unexpected repairs requires budget amendments, Smalls said.
Three significant sinkholes at least 4 feet deep and 6 feet around have appeared in the park in the past year. If more holes develop, Smalls estimates budget changes of up to $30,000 to $35,000 could be needed by time the fiscal year ends June 30.
The frequency of the sinkholes does not alarm Smalls, who said the problems have decreased since the park underwent major renovations in 2006.
However, "we will probably have sinkholes as long as that park exists," he said.
Most of the problems are within Waterfront Park itself. The parking lot, which city officials are considering redeveloping, is mostly on stable ground. The park's extension to the river begins near the bathrooms on the south end of the parking lot, dozens of feet from the seawall, Smalls said.
Smalls, who has been with public works since 1985, couldn't recall any sinkholes developing in the parking lot.
Follow reporter Erin Moody at twitter.com/IPBG_Erin.
Related content:
- Sinkhole in Beaufort's waterfront park under repair
- Workers cover sinkhole in Beaufort waterfront park, April 30, 2013
- Beaufort works to repair sinkholes along seawall, July 3, 2008
This story was originally published November 27, 2013 at 6:54 PM with the headline "Sinkhole depression in Waterfront Park, Beaufort Marina to be repaired after holidays."