Small Sinkhole on Marlboro Hazard to Motorists

East Ridge Streets Department employee Sammy McAllister checks out the small sink hole which opened up in the 600 block of Marlboro Avenue late Saturday afternoon.

A small sinkhole opened up in the 600 block of Marlboro Avenue late Saturday afternoon.

The hole, about two feet in diameter and more than three feet deep, is in the south bound lane near where a blue line ditch cuts under the heavily-traveled road. Officials speculate that the drainage ditch may have undercut the area causing the sinkhole.

East Ridge officials said they have addressed problems in this specific area numerous times over the last couple years. Officials urge motorists to use caution. The lane in which the sinkhole opened is blocked off with reflective signs alerting motorists to the hazard.

Sammy McAllister, a city employee with the Street Department, said it would be Monday before city crews could address the problem. Officials said the area is going to require more extensive repair than in the past.

About Dick Cook

Dick Cook has lived in East Ridge since the Kennedy Administration when his parents bought a house on Marietta Street. Dick graduated from ERHS in 1976 before going on to the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga where he studied Political Science. Dick worked for the Chattanooga Free-Press and the Chattanooga Times Free Press for 22 years. Free-Press Sports Editor Roy Exum plucked him out of production in 1989 and gave him a job as a sports reporter. Dick covered everything from prep sports to the whitewater events on the Ocoee River for the 1996 Olympics. When Chattanooga's two paper's merged, he became the Crime Reporter covering both the Chattanooga Police and Fire Departments. He was among reporters who were honored by the Associated Press for the TFP's coverage of the 2002 fog-shrouded crash on I-75 in Catoosa County, Dick and his wife, Cathy, live on Marlboro Avenue where they are seen frequently chasing around their three grandsons.