Traffic is rarely light around 7am outside of NASH, but last Tuesday was unusually bad.  On March 4, student drivers dealt with unexpectedly slow traffic due to a sinkhole that appeared on the campus drive that leads to Newman Stadium and both parking lots for students and teachers.

“I arrived late to school Tuesday because of that sinkhole,” senior Antonio Servagno said.

Students who prefer to park in “Main” often try to get to school earlier for a nice spot, but their plan did not work out on Tuesday. Even for students who park in the other lots, there were still delays to get into school.

“There was what appeared to be an apparent sinkhole developing in that stretch of road that we had filled with a cold patch of asphalt,” School Resource Officer Ray said. “But last Monday night, it was brought to our attention that there was a growing crack in the pavement, so we made the decision to redirect traffic Tuesday morning for student safety.”

Ray and members from the NA Facilities Department soon determined that it was sinkhole and believe that sewage pipes running underneath the rode could be a contributing factor.  By Tuesday afternoon, the area was made safe for student drivers.

“The sinkhole is currently being covered by two large metal plates as to not hinder students and teachers from arriving in the parking lots,” Ray added. “The size of the sinkhole is about 4ftx4ft, so you’re looking at about four squares of tile put together.”

The sinkhole has not expanded since last Tuesday.

“Once the weather settles in the spring, we’ll have public works on campus to properly fill in the hole for a more permanent solution,” Ray said.

Sinkholes are actually fairly common in Pennsylvania and often time have the most damage. A recent instance in Pittsburgh made national news back in late October when a Port Authority bus fell in a sinkhole downtown. According to National Geographic, sinkholes are created when either the roof of a cavern falls or the rock below the surface erodes due to prolonged water pressure.

But the NASH sinkhole is the first of its kind on campus.

“I think it’s dangerous,” Senior Joscelyn Jackson said, “and I hope that something will done about it soon.”

Senior Alec Dobies rode the bus last Tuesday and had no trouble arriving to school on time, yet he too expressed concern.

“I’m just curious why there’s a sinkhole at NASH and when it’s going to be fixed,” Dobies said.