A sinkhole stemming from a collapsed storm-water pipe, created a traffic hazard July 23, at the intersection of Blivin Road and Route 12. The sinkhole has been backfilled, but the jurisdictional battle over repair costs continues.

A sinkhole on Blivin Road in Spring Grove, near its intersection with Route 12, opened up July 23 and has caused an issue over which governmental agency should foot the bill for the repairs. Four days later, an Illinois Department of Transportation work crew made a cursory inspection and backfilled the cavity with gravel.

It has been determined that a collapsed storm-water sewer pipe collapsed under the pavement and exposed the hole, which came from a larger hollow. Four days after the incident, traffic flow patterns were closed to northbound traffic on the inlet roadway, with signage and barriers indicating that only the southbound road can be traversed.

“That site is the jurisdiction of the Illinois Department of Transportation, as it’s a state route,” said Wally Dittrich, design planner for the McHenry County Division of Transportation. “The pavement showed maybe a four-foot square hole, but underneath the pavement the actual cavity was 5-foot by 7-foot, and about six feet deep. Spring Grove alerted us, and we put up blockades and an electric sign.”

At issue is who is responsible to pay for the remedial work at the intersection. IDOT officials say that Route 12 is their state jurisdiction, but the actual sinkhole and problem area is located on Blivin Road, making it McHenry County’s purview. MHCDOT has said the collapsed pipe stems from the state’s storm-water drainage infrastructure at the intersection, and has no further involvement.

“It took some work to track all this down, and it turns out there is a 1987 intergovernmental agreement with the Village of Spring Grove and IDOT,” said Guy Tridgell, IDOT’s press officer. “In essence, the village assumed all responsibility for the Route 12 roadway and superslab, as well as the piping beneath the road bed.

“We did furnish a copy of the agreement to Matt Wittum, the village’s Public Works director,” he said. “Wittum indicated they were taking it under advisement, and will probably not have any major repairs until a month from now.”

Several phone attempts to reach Matt Wittum for village comment were not successful. Village administration officials decline to go on record, as Wittum is handling the details.

Re-routing of the Spring Grove area roadways, going north and south, are still in disarray with the Wilmot Road bridge approaching completion in late August, and northbound traffic on Blivin Road being sent to Winn Road, or State Park Road.

“I was out there on July 27, and it looked more than meets the eye,” said Rick Schultz, lead worker for IDOT’s maintenance yard in Woodstock. “It’s a big hole, and we eventually decided to back fill it with gravel, and then, wait … until the Wilmot Road bridge is complete, before tackling this problem.”

—   Spring Grove sinkhole at center of  jurisdictional flap with IDOT  —