Hicks Road Sinkhole Could Take Another Month To Fix

The damaged sewer line and sinkhole that has closed part of Hicks Road will likely not be fixed for three or four more weeks.

Sergio Serafino, an engineer with the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, said the damage to the sewer line was much worse than first thought.

Workers lowered a video camera into the sewer line Friday and discovered that more extensive work will be needed to repair the line. The damaged sewer line created a sinkhole that extended under the southbound lanes of Hicks Road near Dundee Road.

Hicks is down to one lane of two-way traffic in the area.

The sinkhole formed after . Previously, Sanjay Patel, north plant manager for the water district, said an evaluation of what caused the damage to the sewer line was ongoing.

Originally, officials believed that the . The plan was to repair the sewer line, fix the sinkhole, and then replace the part of Hicks Road that the sinkhole formed under.

The sewer line is located about 30 feet underground and is 69 inches in diameter.

Repairs have proved challenging from the start, Serafino said, adding that soil in the area was not good for the work they were doing. Early on officials realized they would need to install I-beams which slowed things down for several days, Serafino said.

The village of Palatine does not have jurisdiction over the sewer line. Also, the road is the jurisdiction of the Illinois Department of Transportation.