Frederick still determining sinkhole repair costs
May 28—Frederick officials continue to figure out the cost of repairing a large sinkhole on Monocacy Boulevard.
An invitation for bids for a general contractor to clean and mitigate the sinkhole near the intersection of Monocacy Boulevard and East South Street was posted on May 20 and will close June 6, Tracy Coleman, deputy director of public works for the city, wrote in an email Friday.
The sinkhole stretching across the roadway initially opened as a small hole in a drainage swale next to the road on May 4. It rapidly expanded, eventually rupturing a water line and closing the road.
The city has included the replacement of the 16-inch water line as an alternate to the bid because the main focus is to get the sinkhole mitigated and the road repaired and reopened, Coleman wrote.
Coleman wrote that she is still coordinating with a geotechnical engineer to develop a plan to repair the road, including investigating the area within about 100 feet of the sinkhole along Monocacy Boulevard to check for other problems.
The city is still working on developing a rough cost for repairs, she wrote.
Meanwhile, businesses in the Patrick East Business Shopping Center, which has an entrance behind the barricades closing the road, said the closure has affected their businesses in different ways.
Amanda Naill, manager of Mason Dixon BBQ Services, said the store's in-person business has dropped from 15 to 20 customers a day to four or five.
A lot of people don't realize that you can come down Monocacy Boulevard from East Patrick Street and access the business center through the entrance for the Royal Farms convenience store, Naill said.
She said she's spent about $6,000 in different types of advertising to let customers know the store is still open during the road closure, and that they can either come in or order online.
Tony Waldron, manager of the My Gutter Pro shop next door, joked that the road closure has actually helped, by making it easier to make a left turn onto Monocacy Boulevard.
Waldron said his shop is lucky because it doesn't rely much on walk-in customers, so the closure has not had much impact.
"This is just home base, really, for the trucks," he said, referring to vehicles his business uses.
Follow Ryan Marshall on Twitter: @RMarshallFNP
