Howell Mill Road sinkhole should be repaired by Friday

More than a week after a 5-to-6-inch sinkhole appeared on Howell Mill Road near the Westside Provisions District, city crews continue to make repairs to the road while motorists who regularly use the heavily traveled roadway seek alternate routes to reach area destinations.

But there does appear to be an end in sight as a spokesperson with the Department of Public Works told Patch Tuesday night that crews expect to be finished with repairs by Friday.

But in the meantime, expect more delays in the area between 14th Street and Huff Road due to the sinking ground that first appeared on a bridge on Tuesday, Nov. 20.

The stretch of roadway was closed to all traffic for about 24 hours when the issue was first discovered last week. A temporary fix allowed the road to be opened through the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, but crews have been back to work during normal business hours the past two days this week causing full lane blockage in the area.

Crews will be back at the site through the remainder of the week, but the plan is to shift to two-way travel to two lanes during construction, although there may be intermittent full lane closure for equipment adjustment as needed.

Last week, residents and business owners in the area reported that before a large crack formed in the road on the bridge just north of the Howell Mill/14th intersection, construction crews were blasting next to the road for the nearby Elan Westside Apartments project that broke ground late last month.

The apartment project is part of a larger development project known as ‘169 14th Street’ that will ultimately see 197 apartments and 11,000 square feet of retail space delivered to the westside.

Department of Public Works spokesperson Valerie Bell-Smith told Patch in an email Tuesday that the cause of the road sinking has yet to be determined. Bell-Smith wrote that crews “found several areas of soil depression underneath the roadway which could be attributed to underground utilities and wear and tear that has occurred over time.”

All Westside Provisions District merchants have remained open for business as usual during the road repair and will continue to do so. The footbridge offers quick, convenient pedestrian access to both ends of the district whether you park in the north surface lots accessible by Huff Rd. or in the south deck accessible by 14th St. or Brady Avenue.

WSPD will have private security and off-duty police directing traffic and making it easy to get in an out of the area.

Entrances to WSPD open:

• Huff Road by Figo and the Huff Road entrance by Anthropologie
• 14th Street entrance to the parking deck
• Brady Avenue entrance by West Egg