Crews make some progress to patch up 13-foot-wide hole on Beach Blvd near Hodges Blvd

Friday's rain forced crews to briefly stop working, but despite the rain the Florida Department of Transportation said it expects to finish repairs in less than a week.

FDOT said it has taken steps to ensure the hole won't grow larger.

Neighbors in the nearby Wolf Creek subdivision are ready for the inconvenience to be over.

“There must be a lot of work involved in it because they’ve been working around the clock,” said Diana Combs.

Throughout the day, we’ve seen neighbors come out to monitor the progress of the repairs..

On Thursday, Action News Jax showed you how a 4-foot drainage pipe caved in, causing the hole.

University of North Florida civil engineering professor Dr. Nick Hudyma explained what happened.

“The liquid coming out of the pipe had enough energy to move the sand grains around to cause a void,” said Hudyma.

After neighbors reported to us that a smaller hole recently formed in the same spot and was patched up poorly.

Action News Jax asked FDOT who did the repair and whether it had been done correctly.

We’re waiting to hear back.

Hudyma called the void “minor” compared to what could have happened.

“This pipe had a leak in it and if we don’t keep up and maintain our infrastructure, things like this will become more and more common,” said Hudyma.

According to FDOT, annual inspections occur in areas where the department sees distress.

It’s unclear, however, if an inspection was done around the time neighbors said the hole opened up.

A FDOT spokesperson said pipes such as the one in question can last 30 years, but weather and other unforeseen issues may cause problems to occur.

Cox Media Group