Hickory, North Carolina - Hickory Sinkhole Corvette

Hickory, North Carolina - Hickory Sinkhole Corvette

The sinkhole in Hickory has been repaired, but the Corvette that was swallowed by the sinkhole when it started is now on display at Hickory. It's a pretty mangled mess, a reminder of the great old sinkhole. [Philip Adams, 12/14/2003]

[RA: August 2008: The sinkhole is being filled, finally. The restaurant that displayed the Corvette went out of business when too few people showed up. July 2007: S. R. Clark sez "They never filled in the sink hole. As of 7-21-07, it's still a huge hole (and an eyesore)." March 2006: Robot Greg reports that the property where three sinkholes have opened has been sold to a developer for one dollar. He's thinking of building a car wash there...]

Hickory, North Carolina - Sinkhole - Unsinked

The Hickory Sinkhole has now been filled in. Asphalt will eventually cover the muddy acerage, the fence dismantled and business reopen. Sic transit gloria mundi. [Janet Melody, 04/27/2003]

Hickory, North Carolina - Hickory Sinkhole

When the sinkholes first appeared in the restaurant parking lot on August 17, 2002, one of the holes swallowed a 2002 Corvette belonging to a patron who was dining inside at the time. Parts of the Corvette have occasionally washed up downstream, but the remainder of the car has not been located.

The two holes eventually joined forces and spread out. Since the drain pipes, put in in the '70s, weren't fulfilling their function, water was backing up and flooding the adjacent highway. Divers were sent down to check on the stability of the highway.

Court battles began and the estimate to fix the hole is about $3 million. The company now engaged to repair the hole claims January, 2003 as the finish date. It's a little hard to see because of all the chainlink and concrete barriers, but the traffic on the highway slows at that point so people can take a look. [Janet Melody, 01/12/2003]

[RA: Tourism News item and Robot Greg's visit.]

Hickory, North Carolina - Big hole bedazzles North Carolina
A sinkhole 120 feet long and 50 feet wide has captured the fancy of many in Hickory, NC, where heavy late summer rains apparently ruptured a drainage pipe under the parking lot of Buffalo's Southwest Cafe, causing it to collapse. The resulting hole, 40 feet deep in some places, has, according to the Associated Press, been featured on a Tucson, AZ, morning TV show and has been discussed on the radio in Colorado.... [11/24/2002] Complete News Story