Sinkhole Road Closures Hurting Local Businesses

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - A sinkhole, and the mess it left behind, is now creating a major roadblock for Clarksville business owners.

The Tennessee Department of Transportation says the asphalt at the intersection of College Street and North Second Street is sinking because of aging sewer and drainage lines deep beneath the ground.

"It's scary to think that I'm going to fall in a hole at any moment!" said driver Carol Ledesma.

Perhaps even more concerning is the fact that the intersection in the heart of town will now be shut down for at least a month.

TDOT spokeswoman B.J. Doughty says crews will need 150 feet of pipe to complete the repair, and because that much pipe isn't immediately available, it's not yet known exactly when the work can begin.

Once it begins, she says it will take about 30 days to dig 38 feet under the road and replace the damaged lines.

"30 days, it's going to be a little frustrating," said John Cooksey, who is a mechanic at Quality First Auto Care, which sits right beside the sinkhole.  "If we don't get enough money, we've got to pay rent here; we've got to pay rent at our house, and we've got to eat."

He says business dropped the day the barricades went up because people are avoiding the entire area.

"We lost a lot of drive-by traffic.  No traffic, no work, so it's kinda hard," he said.

Across the street at University Package Store, owner Deborah Howard says business has already dropped by 50 percent.

"I had a customer come in yesterday and tell me he didn't think we were open because he couldn't get here," said Howard.

TDOT and city leaders recognize the inconvenience, but say the road is unstable, and the work can't be put off any longer.

In response to some of the complaints from business owners, the city is decreasing the footprint of the road closure.

Right now, the detours on College Street begin at Eighth Street.  At six a.m. on Thursday, crews will move the barricades from Eighth Street up to Home Avenue.  City leaders call it a compromise, and hope it will help.

Doughty says she'll know more about the timeline of the project by the end of the week.