When a loaded City of Aiken dump truck drove through Gem Lakes as a test to evaluate resident complaints that the streets there were poorly constructed by the developer, it took a tow truck to get it back out when a portion of the scrutinized roadbed collapsed.
Engineers have determined a leaking storm drain under the area caused the truck to fall through the undermined road surface.
City employee Steve Brown was driving the dump truck, filled with rocks and dirt, on Moultrie Drive Thursday to test whether the roads were supportive enough to hold that amount of weight. He said the truck just "kind of started sinking on one side; it didn't just automatically happen." City crews quickly worked to free the truck, and with the help of Wayne's Automotive Towing, lifted it out of the hole successfully, but not without leaving a large footprint. Crews examined the hole by sticking a pole in to see how deep it was - the answer, about 5 feet.
Mike Goss, the supervisor over the City's utilities, said crews were going to have to cut around the hole, and then fill the area with stones for the time being.
On Friday, interim City Manager Roger LeDuc said he spoke with Rick Toole, who owns Toole Engineering of Augusta. The firm was hired for about $30,000 to do a soil and roadway investigation and determine the best place to drill for soil borings in an attempt to quality test the the surface perparation there.
"Rick finished the investigation, and the problem was that one of the storm-drain pipes had a leakage in it, and it was pulling material into the pipe itself," LeDuc said. "It really was not associated with the road problem. If it wasn't for the storm drain, (we) wouldn't have had the sinkhole."
LeDuc said the incident appears to be isolated and that the City is thankful and "fortunate it wasn't a school bus" or any other large vehicle.
"Now, we will let the contractor know they have seven days to fix the (problem) or we will fix it and then charge the contractor or developer," LeDuc said.
For several years, Council and staff have repeatedly met with the neighborhood's developers, Kisner and Gaul LLC, and its residents to come to an agreement on how to move forward in dealing with the roads.
Last year, Council gave a punch list, developed by the City of Aiken, to the developers to fix the roads. Once that list was complete, a one-year developer warranty period was to begin; once the year passed and the roads were found acceptable, the developers could then deed the roads to the City of Aiken.
As of fall 2014, the punch list was near completion, but the City has yet to take over the roads.
In a September 2014 meeting, residents warned Council members and staff legal counsel might be consulted if the roads in the Gem Lakes extension area weren't repaired beyond their present condition.
For now, LeDuc said, engineers need to continue testing the road and formulate data from those tests to bring back to the City.
Maayan Schechter is the local government reporter in Aiken Standard. Follow her on Twitter @MaayanSchechter.