The Road Commission for Oakland County (RCOC) will reopen a portion of Middlebelt Road in Farmington Hills Friday evening, after a daytime closure caused by a sinkhole that opened up south of Sylvan Lane.
The Commission issued a social media alert shortly after 4:30 a.m. on Friday announcing the closure. A second post noted that the 3-foot sinkhole appeared to be expanding:
The sinkhole on Middlebelt Road north of 12 Mile has expanded since this photo that was taken earlier. Middlebelt remains closed to thru traffic btw 12 Mile and 13 Mile roads. Motorists need to seek an alternate route. pic.twitter.com/4S2AhVDf3E
— Oakland County Roads (@oaklandroads) July 12, 2019
According to RCOC, the road will close again at a future date for further work, which will be completed by the Oakland County Water Resources Commission (OCWRC).
In 2016, Middlebelt between 12 and 13 Mile Roads was closed for months as the OCWRC built a sewer transport tunnel designed to handle seasonal sanitary sewer overflows. As the project dragged on, residents lived with serious water quality issues that included odors and damage to wells, the Farmington Press reported.
This also is not the first time crews have dealt with a sinkhole in that area. According to a September 26, 2010, report in the Farmington Observer, soil entered a sanitary sewer line through a failed joint and weakened the road. Addressing that problem kept the area between Wellington and Highmeadow closed for several months.
