American Fork golf course sinkhole stabilized after weekend collapse
May 22, 2023, 5:42 PM | Updated: 6:48 pm
AMERICAN FORK, Utah — City crews in American Fork have stabilized a massive sinkhole after it took part of the Fox Hollow Golf Club on Saturday.
“This just provides a little extra water hazard that people are going to have to get up and get over,” joked Clark Taylor, a member of the American Fork City Council and the Fox Hollow Golf Club Board.
The American Fork Public Works said the hole was created after a log went down the golf course’s river.
“Either causing a leak or bringing in part of that culvert that exacerbated the situation, started blocking water, and then it just became too overwhelming that it gave way,” explained Susan Goebel, Director of American Fork Public Works.
Taylor said they had to close half of the golf course when the sinkhole first appeared.
“We had to close the full-back nine because when it first happened, there was water here and all on the other side,” he said.
For now, the damage is limited to hole 14.
“Right now, we have it stabilized. We did bring in some rock and riprap to help stabilize the walls,” Goebel said.
She said that working on the sinkhole causes more pieces of earth to fall away, making it harder and harder to fix.
“We’ll have to restore that culvert,” Goebel explained, “bringing another culvert in, bringing in some more backfill, and doing some grading.”
However, they won’t be able to permanently patch it up until the runoff slows down, which could be another two to three weeks. But the club is optimistic.
“Hopefully, by the end of the week, we’ll be able to open it us, as long as we can keep people safe,” Taylor expressed. “Just an additional water hazard, as long as we can keep people safe.”
