Sink Hole @ OKW

[mackdaddyrocker]

I've been away from the boards for a few days, so I don't know if this is "old" news.

Monday night (3/7) I was boarding a bus at BWheading towards DTD to transfer to OKW. The driver apologized to everyone on the bus for some great disruption in bus service. (I'd been enjoying the finer points of the Big River Brewery and had no idea what she was talking about.) It seems this was even a big story on the local news.

Apparantly, a sinkhole began to swallow Disney Vacation Club Blvd just west of the OKW entrance while some workers were repairing a pothole. Sure enough, our bus diverted past Westside and PI on the way to Marketplace, rather than the usual trip past OKW and SSR.

Well, I made my connection at DTD for OKW, and the bus went to OKW via SSR. Sure enough, as we approached the turn to OKW, Mouse Security had the road blocked right at the entrance.

The amazing parts to me about the whole situation were that a) Disney had to bring in "experienced" drivers to deal with all of the route changes, and b) the sink hole and the road were fixed by Tuesday morning.

Anyway, thought you'd like to know...

 

[CarolAnnC]

Thanks for the information..I had not yet heard about this.

 

[DrTomorrow]

Well, now we know that mackdaddyrocker is the only one who escaped the neuralizer....

 

[Cruelladeville]

I went right by there on Monday around 4 pm, and there was no problem. I wonder when the problem began?

 

[Disneyaholic]

I went right by there on Monday around 4 pm, and there was no problem. I wonder when the problem began?

On Monday afternoon (don't remember the exact time, but I'm thinking maybe around 5-ish?), we were on a bus to OKW and went by an orange-colored truck that appeared to have broken down, but didn't think much about it. There were a few other white trucks/SUVs there and someone was directing traffic, as only one lane was open.

A few hours later we left OKW in our car; the vehicle was still stopped there, and traffic was still down to one lane. To us, it looked like a broken axle or like the truck had lost a wheel; we couldn't figure out why it was taking so long to tow it out of there!

But when we returned later, maybe around 10 pm, the road was completely closed and we had to go around "the back way" by Downtown Disney and SSR. When we entered OKW, the guard told us that it had been a sinkhole and the area was being repaved.

By Tuesday morning, you would never have known that there had been any problem... Sure wish they could do road repairs in Atlanta that quickly!

 

[NMW]

I'm amazed they fixed the sinkhole so soon. They are a problem where we live. We actually have sinkhole insurance! We decided not to get an inground pool 2 years ago when someone down our street had their pool sink into a giant sinkhole. They are very expensive to repair and the repairs sometimes don't work forever. Roads and overpasses in our area have sunk also.

 

[dianeschlicht]

What exactly causes a sink hole? Is it unstable earth that gets too water saturated?

 

[tjkraz]

Hello, swampland!!!

Something tells me they have a LOT of experience fixing these holes in record time.

 

[DEff]

NMW, you must be in the Lehigh Valley! Me too.

There are different reasons for sink holes to start, but the main issue is that the rock is soluble and the water table is high enough or, there is an underground flow, that dissolves the rock and destablizes the ground. Then something like a big rain or a broken water pipe can lead the entire thing to collapse.

In our neck of the woods, the cement industry dug large pits and they tend to be blamed for the pooling of water and changing natural flow and runoff. It may be coincidental though. This stuff will happen on its own eventually so I'm not really sure who to believe. But the evidence and the locations of the holes around this area suggest there is a relationship.

Donna

 

[Cruelladeville]

I don't understand this sinkhole business at all! Why would it start at one spot and not also at the spot right next to it? And how do they get so big that they swallow whole houses?

I'm from Michigan at the lakeshore- my house is built on SAND dunes, and we have a really high water table all year long, thanks to the lakes, but we have never had a sinkhole around here. We have had culverts wash out in a rainstorm, and the road over it will collapse, but that's not the same thing, is it?

So, if there is a sinkhole, do you just throw some dirt in it, and it's OK? Why wouldn't it just continue to grow to engulf a whole neighborhood, since everyone in one area is built on the same land?

 

[manning]

Here's some info on how sink holes develop.

http://www.swfwmd.state.fl.us/emergency/sinkhole/files/brochure.pdf

 

[ColoradoBelle1]

Read it. Interesting. Now I know as much as I want to know about those darn things! Luckily, it didn't collapse sewer or water pipes. WHEW!
L eave to Disney to fix it overnight and neurolize everyone (almost everyone) !

 

[barryb]

Thanks Manning for the info. I overheard someone talking about sinkholes when we were there last week and had not come across this before (I live in Ireland!). We had a drink in OKW and Kirk the EXCELLENT Barman explained alot to us too!

BarryB.

 

[manning]

Read it. Interesting. Now I know as much as I want to know about those darn things! Luckily, it didn't collapse sewer or water pipes. WHEW!
L eave to Disney to fix it overnight and neurolize everyone (almost everyone) !

Luckily it didn't collapse a building. You should see the huge one in Lake City. It is still growing. The amazing thing about that one is they claim there is another one.......right underneath that one.

 

[NMW]

NMW, you must be in the Lehigh Valley! Me too.

There are different reasons for sink holes to start, but the main issue is that the rock is soluble and the water table is high enough or, there is an underground flow, that dissolves the rock and destablizes the ground. Then something like a big rain or a broken water pipe can lead the entire thing to collapse.

In our neck of the woods, the cement industry dug large pits and they tend to be blamed for the pooling of water and changing natural flow and runoff. It may be coincidental though. This stuff will happen on its own eventually so I'm not really sure who to believe. But the evidence and the locations of the holes around this area suggest there is a relationship.

Donna

Yes, we live in the Lehigh Valley! We were told it's because of the huge limestone boulders that are under ground. It leaves paths for water to get through which causes a sink hole to open. I don't know if that's true but I do know when people get inground pools in my township, the pool companies make you hire a geologist to ***** your "sinkhole risk" before proceding. Which of course pay extra for! The pool companies claim to have lost a lot of money because they start, find a sinkhole and then have to stop. The other problem is the giant limestone boulders. A pool rep told us that they had to have experts come and dynamite really large solid boulders "a couple of times". Other people have so many it's actualy cheaper to keep them and make waterfalls out of them than paying to have them hauled away! We know a family that had to do this and it added $10 K to the cost of the pool! I hate sinkholes. The prospect of them ruined our "dream backyard" plans.

 

[lenshanem]

This is interesting cause last month during our Keys Tour I asked if they ever had to worry about sink holes. She acted like I was crazy!

 

[WDWDad]

This incident was perhaps overblown by rumor and the media. The portion of the road affected and the time taken to repair were both very small. The erosion actually started outside the road shoulder and worked it's way under the road until a passing truck collapsed the pavement. The fix required taking out a 3-4' section of the road to the centerline. Yes the drivers seemed perplexed at first but quickly recovered. By morning the whole thing was over. I don't believe that a great many drivers were that affected. Our driver to the Magic Kingdom had to go by a uncommon route that was explained to him over the radio and he handled it very well despite not being familiar with the road.

Statements like the " road is being swallowed " are overly dramatic. Remember that most of WDW is built over old swamp and you begin to understand how over 25 years the ground may settle here and there. Even here in Michigan sink holes can and do happen. Usually in an area where water/sewer pipes freeze and break, or where recent excavations have disturbed the natural run off of storm water. The problem near OKW may have developed from storm water run off and just progressed before being caught in time. It may not have been a sink hole at all.

 

[ColoradoBelle1]

The article that someone gave a link to above pertained to the limestone base throughout Florida and the propensity for sinkholes ni certain central counties, WDW being a major one. So I would think that sinkholes could be a real problem there BUT ALSO, that since Disney takes such precautions with most everything, that when they surveyed and excavated to 'build' the land they develped that they had geologists in abundance making sure the castle wouldn't slowly sink into a big hole.

We had a huge sinkhole (covered all 4 traffic lanes) here in Colorado ( between Rifle and Edwards) over Thanksgiving. Closed the interstate (I-70) East for several day. And another on the east side of Vail...It was huge and I felt lucky it didn't swallow a couple VWs when it happened!

So, nothing to get anxious about...but certainly a concern for anyone building. Does the DVC have sinkhole insurance?????