ASHLAND — It looks finished, but it’s not.
A sinkhole that formed along Main Street in Ashland near Dairy Queen over four years ago still needs some finishing touches.
Shane Kremser, the city’s engineer said the site still needs railing, “restoration requirements” and soil testing.
“We encountered three underground storage tanks (USTs) that needed to be removed along with the contaminated soil,” Kremser said. “Additional studies are required to mitigate the tank removals.
“Evidently, there was a fuel station on the site in the 1940’s.”
Kremser said the city has reached out to the Ohio Department of Development to see if Ashland is eligible for an “Abandoned Gas Station grant” to help fund the UST remediation.
“I am still waiting to hear back,” Kremser said of the grant.
There are no plans for the property, which is now owned by the city of Ashland, Kremser said.
The project began in 2021, shortly after officials blamed a rain storm for sinkholes forming on properties directly across the street from Dairy Queen.
In all, the city acquired four private properties that were built on top or beside the failing culvert for $190,000. Another adjacent property was donated to the city. All those buildings were demolished and replaced with a temporary gravel lot.
In July 2022, the city received a $500,000 grant from the Ohio Public Works Commission. A year later, city council authorized officials to take out a $600,000 loan to help pay for the project.
They plan to use wastewater funds to repay the loan.
The contract for the entire project — reconstruction of the culvert that serves Town Run — was priced at $1.2 million. But Kremser said “some change orders” may have changed the final cost.