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Repairing Sink Holes at Clinton’s Peters Complex

Sinkholes that can swallow cars and homes and even city blocks often make national news headlines, but a series of sinkholes at the Ethel Peters Complex on Route 81 have merely been making headaches for the Clinton Department of Public Works this year.

“[The holes] started to appear two years ago,” said Department of Public Works Director Peter Neff. “We did some repairs at that point, but we [thought] the issue was relatively minor in nature.”

The holes, which appear when surface or groundwater is able to wash away the soil beneath the surface, continued to grow and cause damage.

“We lost the pavilion that was located on top of the sink hole area,” said Neff. “There was also damage to the domestic water supply for the bathrooms and concession stand. This has since been relocated.

“There was damage to the main water supply of the irrigation system,” Neff continued. “The irrigation line has been temporarily repaired and will be replaced in the fall when we can shut it down safely.”

The problem was exacerbated by debris buried long ago beneath the complex. Neff said that the excavation work that needed to occur is complete and now, the Department of Public Works is waiting for the paving portion of the project to be complete.

“We excavated approximately 3,000 cubic yards of old stumps, logs, and large boulders from the area,” said Neff. “This material was replaced with clean fill.”

Those excavations were not shallow, either. Neff said that the team had to excavate to a depth of 14 feet below the ground to reach the bottom of some of the holes.

The Department of Public Works is finishing up repairs and.

“I think they are doing a great job,” said First Selectman William Fritz, who said the biggest impact of the work was when buses headed to the Joel School needed to be detoured. “Even last year when we had the problem, it was temporary; it was only a day or two when the buses were rerouted.”

Throughout the summer, the Clinton Department of Public Works has managed not to create too much of a disturbance either.

“There is activity up there year-round and people have adjusted their plans accordingly,” said Fritz. “Everything has been going on up there still, there have been no cancellations or anything.”

Neff expects to have repairs completed before the beginning of the school year.