Six months since opening up, an estimated $160,000 project has begun to fill a sinkhole on a Mount Gambier/ Berrin walkway.
In June 2023 a sinkhole opened on Margaret Street which has seen the area blocked off ever since.
The City of Mount Gambier brought in geoscientist Ian Lewis and conducted an independent geotechnical investigation, which found the the sinkhole had a footprint of about 30 square metres.
The investigation recommended council fill the hole and council general manager city infrastructure Barbara Cernovskis said this work had now started.
“Due diligence on this solution has taken some time,” she said.
“Following independent advice, we are filling the cavity with stabilised sand, a mixture of soil and four to six per cent concrete.”
This work, undertaken on January 18, saw 30 cubic metres of stabilised sand fill the sinkhole to 2.5 metres below ground level.
Ms Cernovskis said this would now be left to set before work resumed next week.
“Next week we will continue to add 90 cubic metres of engineered fill, similar to road fill material and then reseal the top so the walkway surface is reinstated,” she said.
“We are confident that once works to stabilise the site are complete, it will be safe to return the thoroughfare to the community.”
Depending on how the work settled, she said council expected the walkway between Margaret Street and the Rail Lands would be open in the next few weeks.
She said they would continue working with neighbouring property owners to ensure the area was safe.
“We will install a crack monitoring system on the wall of the neighbouring business to monitor any further ground movement or settlement during the next 12 months,” she said.
