Interstate 65 Alabama

[Alex]

Officials still unsure what to do about mysterious I-65 sinkhole

March 17, 2010, 7:21AM

PRICEVILLE, Ala. -- Officials say they still don't know what caused a sinkhole on Interstate 65 in north Alabama and that there is a strong possibility that the state will detour northbound traffic around the area, the Decatur Daily reports.

Division 1 engineer Johnny Harris told the Decatur Daily that the outside northbound lane between Hartselle and Priceville near mile marker 329, which was closed Friday afternoon, will remain closed and that traffic may be detoured to U.S. 31 and back over to I-65 at the Priceville interchange.

The sinkhole is not the only problem: There's a depression in the road nearby.

[Bryant5493]

Wow! That's crazy!


Be well,

Bryant

[Chris]

How big is this sinkhole? It is possible that a broken sewage pipe washed away the earth underneath, causing sinkholes large enough to fit an SUV.

[sammack]

How big is this sinkhole? It is possible that a broken sewage pipe washed away the earth underneath, causing sinkholes large enough to fit an SUV.

I do believe there is underlying limestone, which of course dissolves easily in water.

Also, a little more farfetched, but still a possibility is abandoned coal mines.

Either of course could cause the subsidence

[codyg1985]

How big is this sinkhole? It is possible that a broken sewage pipe washed away the earth underneath, causing sinkholes large enough to fit an SUV.

I do believe there is underlying limestone, which of course dissolves easily in water.

Also, a little more farfetched, but still a possibility is abandoned coal mines.

Either of course could cause the subsidence

The underlying limestone is the more likely culprit, but an underground utility leaking could have caused it, too.  Up here in North Alabama, limestone has caused quite a few sinkholes. There have been some that have swallowed up entire houses in Madison.

[codyg1985]

ALDOT is closing NB I-65 between exits 318 at Lacon and 334 at Priceville. Motorists will have to use US 31 through Falkville and Hartselle.

[froggie]

As I recall, there's a stretch of US 31 that is only 2 lanes just north of Exit 318.  This isn't going to be pretty.

[Hellfighter]

Any pictures of the area?

[codyg1985]

Here are some pics from the area from WHNT-TV.

[Hellfighter]

Wasn't there another sinkhole of this type on I-59?

[jdb1234]

I was up that way over the weekend and the right lane of I-65 @ Mile Marker 329 was closed even then.  I'm not surprised that it was a sinkhole.  And to answer one question, yes, US 31 has a two lane section north of exit 318.

[SSF]

well that explains the lane closure then.  Drove through there on Tuesday night and wondered what that was about.

Alabama is having all kinds of road problems, they had the failure on 431 north of Eufaula that has been detoured around now for a month. 

[codyg1985]

The Huntsville Times has more info about the situation. It also shows a better picture of the sinkhole.

The detour has been modified so that smaller vehicles can travel up to exit 325 (Thompson Road) and exit. Large trucks still have to use exit 318 (US 31/Lacon).

ALDOT says that it could take anywhere from a few days to three or four weeks to repair the sinkhole.

As expected, traffic slowed to a crawl along US 31 in Hartselle.

[Chris]

http://media.al.com/breaking/photo/sinkhole-on-interstate-65-833c4dd58ba79b79.jpg

Wow the pavement is very thin. It's only like 1 or 2 inches thick. If you have a shoulder at the same specs of the driving lanes, you can operate a 4-0 road work system; all 4 lanes on one roadway.

[Bryant5493]

That's a very big hole right there; hopefully, it'll get fixed as quick as possible.


Be well,

Bryant

[codyg1985]

I drove down along I-65 south to check out the area. ALDOT has DMS signs posted all along I-65 north beginning around MM 300 indicating that the interstate is closed at Exit 324. There is plenty of warning that it is closed. ALDOT is also directing wide loads to use Exits 310 (AL 157 North) and Exit 318 (US 31). I took AL 157 North to see where the detour leads, but there is no indication of what road to take once you leave I-65. There are no signs at AL 24 in Moulton, which would take you back to Decatur. I assume traffic isn't being directed to AL 101 or to Florence.

At 2 PM today NB traffic wasn't backing up much on the ramps of the exits. I assume the ample warning of the closure is causing traffic to take enough alternate routes so that one exit doesn't get jammed.

[SSF]

i drove through the area at 3:30 and the backup at Thompson had gotten slightly worse.  it was backed up probably about 1/4 of a mile from the exit.  Felt bad for the workers at a factory on Thompson Road as there was a lineup just to leave work that looked to stretch into the hundreds of cars.

[jdb1234]

I-65 Northbound lanes to reopen at 6 PM tonight.

http://blog.al.com/drivers-side/2010/03/northbound_i-65_lanes_in_morgan_county_scheduled_to_reopen_tonight_at_6.html

[jdb1234]

Yet another sinkhole on I-65, this time in Shelby County:

http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2010/07/aldot_evaluating_repair_of_sin.html

[golden eagle]

Yet another sinkhole on I-65, this time in Shelby County:

http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2010/07/aldot_evaluating_repair_of_sin.html

I was in the area last weekend. I didn't see any backups, though. But then again, it was a holiday weekend.