Sinkholes Swallowing Local Roads Keep Crews Busy

Traffic is being diverted around a large sinkhole that developed in West Bloomfield Township Friday,

The Oakland County Road Commission closed Drake Road just north of Maple Road, The Oakland News reports. Traffic will disrupted for about two weeks.

The route detour route for through traffic is Maple Road to Farmington Road to White Lake Road.

It’s a recurring story, with sinkholes also reported in Royal Oak and Farmington Hills this week.

In Farmington Hills, a collapse on Middlebelt Road early Thursday means the road will be closed between 12 Mile and 13 Mile until repairs can be completed, WWJ/CBSLocal reports. In the meantime, the detour is 12 Mile Road to Orchard Road to 13 Mile Road and back to MIddlebelt.

Officials with the Oakland County Road Commission weren’t sure what caused the Farmington Hills sinkhole, but their theory was that the sanitary sewer below the road collapsed.

“We don’t know that because the sewer is about 25 or 30 feet down, and nobody has excavated down to it yet,” he said at the time.

A giant sinkhole that nearly swallowed 11 Mile Road in Royal Oak Tuesday apparently was the result of a water main break, Greg Rassel, the city’s director of public services told Patch.

Traffic was temporarily diverted, but temporary repairs make it passable until spring arrives.

“It will be bumpy, but the road will be open,“ Rassel said. “We’re used to this.