T-L Photo/SHELLEY HANSON A LARGE sinkhole gapes open in front of the Jaycee Manor Apartments in Martins Ferry on Monday. The contractor who did work there previously is expected to fix the situation at no extra cost to the city.

MARTINS FERRY — A massive sinkhole that appeared next to the Jaycee Manor Apartments last Friday will be fixed by the contractor who recently did work there, said City Service Director Chris Cleary — and it will be done at no extra cost to the city of Martins Ferry.

At about 3:30 p.m. Friday, the ground began to open up and fall away near the corner of one of the apartment buildings, located at 640 Columbus Ave. It occurred in the same area where work was completed in recent months.

After inspection, it was discovered a sealant on a piece of the culvert connected to the street drain failed. This work was originally done by Border Patrol Construction.

“It was basically a spinning vortex down there that took it all out,” Cleary said of the earth, describing the situation as a “manmade sinkhole.”

The hole is estimated to be 30 feet deep and is also several feet wide. Cleary said Border Patrol installed a new waterline on Saturday to restore water service to Jaycee Manor residents. He noted the building is OK and that no one had to move out.

“It looked like some of the sealant on one side had given way and it caused it to back up. There was a small area open, so as the material came down, pressure built up and blew it all out,” he said Monday.

“The contractor is due back today to fill the bottom of the hole with concrete up to the level of our utility lines, and the rest of the way with gravel, and basically put it back the way it was.

“There is no cost to us. They recognized that it was on their end of it. It’s not so much a sinkhole — though it is — it’s more of a manmade thing,” Cleary added.

A sinkhole appeared in the same area last year. It was about as deep as Friday’s. It was determined that hole was caused by years of water runoff underground because of a deteriorated culvert pipe. In a $200,000 project, Border Patrol installed a new, massive culvert pipe to direct the water off the hilly area into a drain. The connection between the pipe and drain box apparently is what failed, leading to Friday’s sinkhole.