Cookeville Public Works closed Jere Whitson Drive Thursday for emergency repairs after the pavement began sinking following a combination of extreme summer heat and heavy rainfall.
Public Works Director Mary Beth Elrod said the city is currently performing a permanent fix on a section of the roadway sinking over an underground utility line. Elrod said the repair process involves saw cutting the affected area and filling a void space with rock.
“So with all of the recent rainfalls and then all of the high summertime heats, we see holes fall out in our pavements,” Elrod said. “The summertime heats, especially in the 90s and getting up into the 100 degrees, it heats up the pavement and makes it a little bit more soft.”
Elrod said the damage on Jere Whitson appeared as a basketball-sized hole that revealed a 10-by-3-foot void underneath the surface. Elrod said the city performed a temporary fix during the evening hours last week when the issue was first discovered to ensure the road remained stable until a full crew could arrive.
“We have to do them pretty quickly when we find them or they get reported because it can, it’s like a pothole, it could cause damage to cars or tires and we do want to get these fixed as quickly as possible to not cause issues with the citizens traversing the roadways,” Elrod said. “And so that’s what we’ve been chasing these holes for several weeks, they pop up, it’s just regular infrastructure maintenance that we see a lot this time of year.”
Elrod said the specific location of the hole in the center of the street required a full closure of both travel lanes and a detour for motorists. Elrod said the city generally prefers to keep one lane open with flaggers, but the size and position of this repair made a total closure necessary for the single-day project.
“Luckily there’s plenty of side streets there, so they’re just able to detour around one block and come back in,” Elrod said. “But we do try to only do one lane road closures and keep one lane of travel open and have flaggers, but it wasn’t possible on this one.”
“If the public sees any holes or divots or something forming in the roadway, please report them,” Elrod said. “You can report them online through the city website or you can call and just leave a voicemail and report them at the public works office and we can investigate those.”
