Huge sinkhole in Elkhart County, east of Goshen expected to be repaired by Friday

Goshen, IND --- Early Monday morning a sinkhole was reported on County Rd between County Rd 36 and 38, making the road impossible to travel on.

Crews are actively working on repaving the road, by replacing old pipes for new ones and fixing the structure underneath. Elkhart County Engineer Justin Bowers says fixing the road is their top priority right now.

Bowers and crew workers have gathered data over the past few days and are still waiting to verify their data, but they believe the sinkhole was likely caused from a one-hundred-year storm event. One-hundred-year storm events are rare, meaning it would have to be one-hundred-percent possible to get that much rain in any year.

"This is just a crazy amount of precipitation and that drainage point couldn’t handle the hydrostatic pressure that was there," Bowers said.

As of now, we don't know how deep the sinkhole is, but Bowers says another sinkhole in the area is extremely unlikely.

Drivers can take detour routes on County Rd 33 or 37 to get down to County Rd 38 or up to County Rd 36. Bowers says to anyone on the road to be careful while driving through a construction site.

“If you see construction workers or cones or signs, slow down, stay vigilant, and yeah for the love, stay off your phone," Bowers says.