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Let Us Gather Around For Another NCM Sinkhole Update: Video

Thursday, February 12th marked the one year anniversary of the day a massive sinkhole opened up underneath the Skydome at the National Corvette Museum, swallowing eight Corvettes whole. Nature is a #*&%.

To mark the occasion, let’s check in with Project Manager Zach Massey from Scott, Murphy & Daniel, LLC – the firm bravely handling the museum ground stabilization efforts.

As you’ll recall, the sinkhole has already been backfilled completely, following some hole stabilization with sheet piles to retain the soil in the event of future erosion. Most of the volume has been filled with crushed limestone. Now, as of February 11th, the contractor tasked with further stabilizing the ground has begun work inserting so-called micropiles into the site.

Micropiles are essentially narrow cylindrical foundation elements made of a steel casing and reinforcement bar, and pumped with very high pressure cement to help stabilize the earth by resisting loads in all directions. The micropiles are – at least ideally – seeking out strong bedrock under the surface to bind with, in order to lend the reinforcing columns some sturdy support.

According to Zach Massey, repairs on the National Corvette Museum Skydome floor are proceeding as scheduled, and should be completed around early July of this year.

Aaron Brzozowski is a writer and motoring enthusiast from Detroit with an affinity for '80s German steel. He is not active on the Twitter these days, but you may send him a courier pigeon.

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Comments

  1. Look – if there is something sucking all this away – do you really think you can fill it???

    Well – whoever they paid the $$$$ to can surely say they tried….

    GOOD LUCK!!! is all I can say… Might as well send down some beach sand…

    Reply
    1. You can’t use beach sand. The salinity of it is detrimental to the integrity of concrete.

      Also, geotechnical engineers can determine if anything can “suck away” what’s been built.

      Reply

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