Giant sinkhole threatens to swallow West Virginia police department

HINTON, W.Va. — A small sinkhole that first appeared in June has grown so large that it may end up swallowing an entire police department building.

Part of a road and the former parking lot of the Hinton Police Department has vanished after a massive sinkhole grew to epic proportions following rains brought on by the aftermath of Hurricane Nicole.

According to WVNS, the Hinton Police Department was forced to find new headquarters in late July when the foundation of its building was starting to hang over the sinkhole.

The sinkhole formed when a 100-year-old culvert underneath the roadway collapsed, the station reported.

“The hole has now gone up underneath our police station. We moved our men out of there very shortly after the hole happened, so there hasn’t been anybody in the building for a while, and we’ve been slowly moving their supplies out. We anticipate the building will have to be demolished, at some point,” Hinton City Manager Cris Meadows told WVNS.

The sinkhole is now so large that the West Virginia Department of Transportation will install a 125-foot temporary bridge on Route 20 next to the sinkhole until a long-term solution can be determined.

The Division of Highways said it hopes to put up the permanent repair for bidding by the end of 2022.

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