POLK COUNTY, Fla. — Florida's record cold snap may be to blame for two sinkholes in Polk County that shut down a busy road Tuesday. It is causing major backups and there really is no easy way to get around the sinkholes.
Crews are on scene trying to determine how unstable the road is. The two sinkholes were discovered overnight and shut down parts of US Highway 27 (see images) .
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A driver spotted one of the sinkholes just after midnight Tuesday in the northbound lane of US-27 in Lake Wales. Another sinkhole opened up in the median of US-27, about one mile south of Hunt Brothers Road, also in Lake Wales.
According to the Florida Department of Transportation, the smaller sinkhole is 20 feet wide and the other one is 65 feet wide and 20 feet deep. The sinkhole, officials say, is still growing.
"I was so thankful for that. No one was hurt, there were no crashes and law enforcement was able to find it. Then we can get in and start doing our business," Cindy Clemmons of the Florida Department of Transportation said. "We're taking core samples and trying to figure out how deep the void is under the earth."
US-27 is a major road that runs north and south through Polk County. Twenty-two thousand vehicles a day use it and will be forced to deal with a 45-minute detour while crews working on the road.
US-27 could be closed for several days. Engineers are digging underground for samples. They are using radar, similar to a sonogram machine, that will take pictures and send sound waves to show what's underground and give them an idea of how big the void is.
Southwest Florida Water Management District officials say it's still too early to tell exactly what caused the three sinkholes, but said it's likely too much water was pumped from underground to help irrigate crops during the deep freeze and that caused a drastic drop in ground water levels.
They also say it's still too early to determine how much it could cost to repair the road. But, because of an emergency declaration, funding is available. Repairs can't be made there, however, until the sinkholes stop swallowing up the road.