Another sinkhole closes Rt. 202 in King of Prussia; repairs could take all week
KING OF PRUSSIA, Pennsylvania (WPVI) -- Repairs to the closed section of Route 202 (Dekalb Pike) in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania could take all week, according to officials.
The original closure happened on July 10 after a water main break near Henderson Road. During the repairs, a sinkhole was discovered.
PennDOT crews dug out a large section, filled it in and put new asphalt on top. But the new section started to fail on July 16, and the road was closed again, according to officials.
PennDOT says crews found smaller sinkholes under the road, causing it to dip.
"We believe it's the recent storm that came in this past weekend. I created more water in the area and so forth. It's not geologically too stable of an area," said Robyn Briggs, spokeswoman for PennDOT..
SEE ALSO: Southbound Route 202 in King of Prussia reduced to 1 lane while crews assess damage
Engineers are not sure if the problems are connected to sinkholes about 10 feet away on private property, but are working with the owner to get that situation resolved as well.
Unlike last week when all lanes were closed, one southbound lane is open during these repairs. But it's still a problem for businesses.
"We haven't had any update on how long this is going to be going on," said Suzanne Thurwanger, who works for Marini Family Chiropractor.
More than a dozen clients canceled last week because of problems caused by the sinkhole. This week, she is fielding a lot of phone calls.
"They've heard on the news that one lane might be open, but they don't quite know which lane. They want to know how do they get to us, can they get to us," said Thurwanger.
Crews filled in the hole on Tuesday, but plan to dig it back up on Wednesday and replace the dirt with a concrete-based fill that is supposed to be more stable. The process to get the road open could take a while.
"Best case scenario, it could be the end of this week," said Briggs. "Worst case scenario is sometime next week."
