From Local Sources

Significant cracks have formed on Hillham Road South just south of State Road 56.

“I am not sure what is happening there yet,” County Engineer Brent Wendholt told the Dubois County Commissioners Monday. “The road is cracking and settling in certain areas. And it’s settling dramatically. It almost looks like a river going down the road.”

The road remains open and is safe to drive on, he said, and the settling cracks have been patched with dirt.

But they have highway officials concerned. “How much it’s going to cost and what is causing this, I don’t have an answer yet,” Wendholt said. “But it sounds it’s pretty significant.“

Wendholt originally thought there had been a hill slide. But now he believes there is something underneath the road, like a cavern or clay layer. “Something is under there,” he said, “moving down.”

Patriot Engineering is going to the site Monday to bore five holes to get samples for an analysis. Wendholt said he should have a report of those results in the next two weeks about what is happening underground. He plans to bring that information to the commissioners’ first meeting in April.