There is what was thought to be a sinkhole near the Dormont pool and it is growing larger. At first, an underground container the size of a mobile home collapsed and swallowed part of the parking lot.
Now, two more concrete boxes have been discovered. Dormont officials aren’t actually calling it a sinkhole though – they’re not sure what it is. But they do know they have a problem to be dealt with.
It had the makings of a sinkhole when the earth opened up in the parking lot. But when the digging started, borough officials discovered it was not one, but three underground concrete structures.
“They’re 7 feet below the surface, they are 12 feet deep themselves, 17 feet wide and 53 feet long,” Dormont Borough Manager Jeff Naftal said. “They’re big.”
Speculation is the 8-foot –thick concrete structures were part of an underground storm drainage system.
“It appears that they were there for storm drainage purposes probably for the road,” Naftal said. “We’re not sure of that exactly, because we haven’t fully excavated, so we don’t know that for sure.”
Since no one was around when the structures were built, the borough is hoping to get some idea from the county or PennDOT records. In the meantime, speculation continues.