MOBILE COUNTY, Ala. (WPMI) —
A massive sinkhole could soon cause serious problems for a neighborhood in Mobile.
The hole is wide and deep enough for a human to fall inside. Neighbors along WynnField East said it has been growing for nearly two months.
Michael Hites said he reported it to the City of Mobile’s 311 phone line. Finally, last week someone from public works told him Mobile only has one pothole patching truck in operation.
“We have a lot of kids in the neighborhood. They are riding those little razor things all the time. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that’s going to be a hard stop,” Hites said.
The Wynnfield Subdivision resident reached out to Councilwoman, Bess Rich for help.
Councilwoman Rich responded to Hites with this e-mail,
“I will write it up again. I hear what you’re saying about needing a pothole truck. Makes sense. Interestingly the Financial Report we received at Council today mentioned that our treasury is in excellent shape. We have a tremendous reserve. At last report to be $85 million. That’s all good. Operations is below budget and sales taxes are up. The Council just approved the purchase for seven trash trucks to help the system get back on schedule. Perhaps a pothole repair truck, should be on the list too! Or at least a contractual arrangement with private business if the Administration would rather outsource. No excuse about not having timely repairs to our streets.”
NBC 15’s Justin Moore reached out to the councilwoman for an interview. She responded with this text message.
“Justin, the best person or Department to provide an interview would be Public Services Ex Director is James DeLapp. I have written to the Mayor twice to bring this matter to his attention for repairs. I copied Mr. DeLapp when I wrote the Mayor last week so he should be familiar with the situation. I also understand that MAWSS has already done a smoke test to see if it was their infrastructure and residents were told no. I let the Mayor know that as well in my recent email to him. It’s a serious safety problem and I hope the City views it as such. Please understand that I can not by law direct any City employee. But that doesn’t mean I can’t or won’t advocate for residents to help that the problem is resolved and repaired by the proper responsible party, be it City or a utility company.
If City funds are needed it would be up to the City personnel to relay that information to me and there is to my knowledge District 6 CIP contingency funds available that might be utilized.”
Communications Director for the City of Mobile, Candace Cooksey sent NBC 15 News this statement,
“We’ve had members of our public works team visit the sinkhole in Wynnfield Subdivision on more than one occasion and we are currently working with MAWSS to determine whether the problem is being caused by its infrastructure or something else. This is an important step in the process because filling in the sinkhole without addressing the root cause wouldn’t fix the problem and could likely result in the hole forming again. We understand the concerns of nearby homeowners and motorists, and we are currently working with MAWSS to address the situation.”
“All I’m asking is that they come out here and take care of it before it becomes a bigger problem” Hites said.
Only thing covering up the hole is a piece of plywood that belongs to a neighbor. The city placed a caution sign on top. The sign is missing the orange bling lights. Residents said the sign has been hit by cars multiple times over the last few weeks.