In this file photo, construction continues on the Connecting Link section of Highway 101 in northern Ontario.Len Gillis / Postmedia Network Back in May, this publication wrote about a sinkhole threatening the main road leading into the town of Oxford, Nova Scotia. At the time, your author also included an image from Google Maps, highlighting a trio of areas that seemed to indicate the problem could spread to the nearby Trans-Canada Highway.Now, nearly half a calendar year later, it seems other people including the Department of Transportation have begun to pick up on the problem as well.According to aerial photographs collected by the CBC dating back to the 1930s, there is the potential for sinkhole calamity to rear its head underneath a busy part of the Nova Scotia highway.Looking at the CBC photos, its clear that stretch of highway was built over something whether it was a sinkhole or small pond is currently up for debate. However, the general understanding is that when the link was built nearly fifty years ago, common roadbuilding techniques would have had construction crews simply fill the offending area with rocks and gravel. An animation of aerial photographs of the affected area, compiled by the CBC National Air Photo Library and Brett Ruskin / CBC If the spot is indeed a sinkhole a reasonable assumption given the topographical challenges nearby that decision could spell disaster if the floor of the sinkhole shifts, something sinkholes tend to do.These days, building around or over a sinkhole isnt too much of a problem, as construction of a special bridge will shift the roadways weight away from the trouble spot. This author travels this section of highway several times a month, and can confidently assert there is no bridge of any kind on the main part of the TCH in this area, sinkhole-proof or otherwise.Local politicians are calling on other levels of government to step up and help solve this issue before it becomes a problem. The provincial transportation department has committed to an in-depth geotechnical investigation over the next few weeks, but asserts there has been no significant changes in the topography over the years. Its worth noting that the nearby community of Springhill was a mining town for ages.Alert readers will note there rarely are significant changes before a major sinkhole event, given that the significant change usually rears its head at the moment all the ground gives way. Caretakers at the Corvette Museum can attest to that
Origin: Trans-Canada Highway may be built right over Nova Scotia sinkhole: report