There you are, sipping your coffee, thinking the day might actually be calm, when suddenly the phone rings. A resident reports that “a chunk of the road just collapsed under my Subaru.” You head out to investigate and sure enough, there it is: a small blacktop crater that looks like the earth’s just had enough and decided to give up.

Now, before you grab a load of cold patch and pretend you never saw it, stop right there. This isn’t just a pothole with an attitude. This might be the beginning of something much, much deeper. Literally.

Sinkholes: The Sneaky Saboteurs of Small-Town Streets

Sinkholes in paved roads often start small. They lure you in with their innocent little dip, maybe just the size of a dinner plate. But what’s under that crumbling edge could be anything from a leaking water main to a forgotten tree stump that’s finally given up the ghost after 40 years underground. Ah, yes, the joys of municipal road repair.

Fill-and-Forget? Not This Time.

We know the temptation. You’ve got six other things on your plate, Larry’s out sick, and the crew is waiting on parts for the loader. Slapping some patch in there seems like a win. But if you don’t investigate, you might just be putting a Band-Aid on a gaping wound. One heavy rainstorm later and you’re fielding complaints from residents who swear the town’s trying to swallow their cars.

What’s Lurking Beneath?

Here are some usual suspects behind sudden pavement collapses:

• Cavitated culvert pipe: The pipe rusted out from the bottom, and the soil’s been quietly escaping for years. It’s the infrastructure version of termites.
• Water or sewer main leak: Even a slow leak can eat away at the sub-base until -surprise! – it’s pancake time.
• Buried organic debris: That tree stump the developer buried under the road in 1986 finally rotted away, leaving a nice little underground void.
• Rodent activity or burrowing critters: Yep, groundhogs and muskrats have been known to help “remodel” roadside ditches from below.
• Poor compaction or forgotten trench work: Somebody didn’t tamp down that utility cut 15 years ago, and now it’s come home to roost.

What You Should Do

• Poke around (safely): Use a probe or dig out around the edges. If it’s hollow underneath, you’ve got a bigger issue.
• Check drainage nearby: Is there a culvert in the area? Any signs of water undermining the road?
• Call in utilities: Before anyone breaks out a shovel in earnest, make sure there’s no active line that might turn your fix into a geyser.
• Document it: Take photos, mark it off, and note it in your maintenance records. It’s a lot easier to explain a delay when there’s proof you didn’t just ignore a potential road-swallowing monster.

So next time the pavement collapses like a soufflé, don’t just fill it and forget it. Put on your detective hat and figure out what caused it. You might save your road, and your budget, from a much bigger mess down the line.

Besides, there’s something oddly satisfying about solving the mystery of the disappearing asphalt. Just don’t expect a medal. A quiet “thanks” from the nearest resident and fewer angry voicemails will have to do.