Sinkholes

A sinkhole rarely announces itself before it opens. An empty space forms underground, and the ground above it holds, until it doesn't. Sinkholes fills that void directly with expanding polymer, mapped to its actual size and shape, without excavating the area open. Transportation departments, property owners, and public agencies turn to it whenever a hole has already opened, or ground has visibly given way.

Why This Happens

A sinkhole is the visible result of a void that's been growing out of sight. Here's what usually causes it.

A broken, cracked, or misaligned underground pipe washing soil into the pipe itself instead of holding it in place

Water erosion slowly carrying soil away from beneath a road, structure, or paved surface over months or years

Old underground workings, mine shafts, or abandoned utility lines leaving a void the ground above eventually settles into

A void that grew gradually underground until the ground above could no longer support its own weight

Key Signs You Have This Problem

Some sinkholes open suddenly, but many give warning first. Watch for these.

A sudden depression or hole opening in pavement, a lawn, or the ground near a structure

A section of ground that sounds hollow or feels soft underfoot

Cracks radiating outward from one point on a slab, roadway, or foundation

Water pooling in one specific low spot after rain, even on otherwise flat ground

A drain, culvert, or pipe joint nearby that has visibly separated or shifted

A gradual dip that's been getting worse over weeks or months, rather than appearing all at once

Is Sinkholes What You're Dealing With?

This is the right page when a void has already opened at the surface, or ground has visibly collapsed into an empty space below.

It's not the best fit in every case. Check these first:

• Ground beneath a structure feels weak but hasn't collapsed into an open void yet? See Void Formation.
• Soil is disappearing gradually without a hole opening yet? See Soil Loss.
• The void is specifically tied to an old or abandoned utility line? See Abandoned Utility Voids.

Sinkholes often form near a failing culvert or pipe joint. If a specific pipe or joint is involved, Joint Leaks and Pipe Penetration Leaks are worth checking too.

Benefits of Sinkholes Control

What filling a sinkhole the right way, instead of patching the surface, actually gets you.

Fills the void completely, including narrow or irregular channels a rigid fill material would miss, addressing the actual empty space rather than just the surface symptom

Reduces the risk of a growing void collapsing without warning under a vehicle, a structure, or someone's weight

Keeps the area usable. On the US 15 Business project in Virginia, crew hours were limited to 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. specifically to avoid disrupting the school bus schedule for three nearby schools

Measured in days, not months. That same Virginia project strengthened, stabilized, and lifted the roadway in just four days

Expanding polymer is injected in a pattern mapped to the void's actual size and location, expanding up to 20 times its original volume to fill the space completely

Void Filling, the Service, performs this fix directly, mapping and filling the specific void involved

How It's Solved

URETEK's general approach maps the void's size and location before drilling starts. Crews drill small holes in a pattern designed around that mapping, then inject expanding polymer that fills the void completely, including narrow channels a rigid fill material would miss. There's no excavation.

This is exactly what the Void Filling service does. It's different from Soil Loss's focus on gradual, not-yet-collapsed erosion, and different from Abandoned Utility Voids' focus on a void tied to an old utility line specifically.