The results from tests that started after an Aiken City dump truck fell through a sinkhole in the Gem Lakes extension area are expected to be in the hands of City officials by July.
In April, a loaded City dump truck drove through the Gem Lakes extension area to test and evaluate several residents' complaints that the streets were poorly constructed by the neighborhood's developer. Augusta-based company W.R. Toole Engineering Inc. was hired earlier this year for $30,000 to do a soil and roadway investigation in the Gem Lakes area.
Engineers at that time determined a failing storm-drainage pipe under the area caused the truck to fall through the undermined road surface on Moultrie Drive, leaving a nearly 5-foot-deep sinkhole filled with muddy water in the ground.
To fix the problem, City officials issued a one-week notice in April to Gem Lakes developers Gaul and Kisner LLC to either fix the sinkhole on Moultrie Drive, or wait for the City to bill them for fixing the hole themselves. George Grinton, the City's engineering and utilities director, said that the City changed course and decided to hire W.R. Toole Engineering to test the roads, which include the coring of asphalt and soil.
"They are going down as deep as 10 feet to evaluate the conditions," Grinton said. "And right now we're just waiting for the testing to be completed by Willmer Engineering out of Atlanta. We hired Toole to help us get the sampling done by a reputable firm, independent of the developers."
Once the testing is complete, Grinton said he expects a prepared report detailing why the roads may be failing, with recommendations on what might be done to correct the failures.
This particular road issue goes back several years, and Council and staff have met repeatedly with developers Gaul and Kisner, as well as Gem Lakes residents, to come to an agreement on how to move forward dealing with the roads.
Council gave a punch list, developed by the City of Aiken, to the developers last year 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.
That punch list has since been completed, but the City has yet to take over the roads.
In a September 2014 meeting between City officials and residents, many residents warned Council members and staff that legal counsel might be consulted if the roads in the Gem Lakes extension area weren't repaired beyond their present condition.