A large and expanding sinkhole has caused fear among residents living nearby, worried that their homes might be engulfed if the city does not intervene.
The gaping hole first appeared in March 2024, and despite being labeled an emergency by the city just a month later, it’s still growing.
Located in the University City neighborhood of San Diego, the sinkhole abuts a park and a popular walking and biking trail.
It has also has left neighbors stuck looking at fencing and caution tape for months while the dangerous crater keeps expanding.
Colin Grubensky, a resident whose property is adjacent to the sinkhole, shared his concerns with the local ABC affiliate KGTV, stating, “I actually moved in, I wanna say maybe one or two days before it first opened up about a year ago.”
“Just kind of surprised that it’s still an issue for this long.”
The once-popular walking path next to the hole is shut down, now filled with murky water.
“People use these paths for biking and walking, so there’s always a risk that somebody just doesn’t notice it,” said Grubensky.
“It’s full of water now, which is new, and kind of gross.”
After an evaluation in April 2024, the sinkhole was placed on the city’s emergency repair list.
But almost a year later, residents say the only thing that’s changed is the hole getting worse.
“There was a fence, kind of a like, an initial fence put up, and then another fence put up later,” Grubensky said.
“You can see that fence now is kind of mostly falling into it.”
Locals say a recent storm has completely blocked off the drain, making matters worse.
They claim they were told the fix would cost $2 million.
The City of San Diego attributes the large sinkhole to deteriorating underground metal pipes that require replacement.
When KGTV reached out, city officials directed them to a previous statement.
They said repairs were set to begin this week but were delayed by rain.
“If we’re just gonna let it continue to expand like obviously eventually houses are gonna come into come into play as well,” Grubensky warned.
City officials insist that permanent repairs will start once the rain stops and conditions allow work to begin.
For now, residents are stuck watching the hole grow and wondering when help will finally come.
The City of San Diego didn’t immediately respond to the request for comment by The U.S. Sun.
