As city project backlog grows, so does massive neighborhood sinkhole

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A massive sinkhole growing for months in a west Charlotte front yard has left neighbors frustrated.

Channel 9 investigated the sinkhole on Montana Drive, near Beatties Ford Road and Interstate 85, in July, but neighbors said the hole has been growing since January, and it opened up even more during Monday night’s powerful storms.

[RELATED: Thousands dealing with stormwater issues stuck on years-long waitlist]

Channel 9 saw that one of the safety barriers put up around the fall has fallen into it. The hole is so wide and deep that it could easily swallow a couple of cars.

The homeowner is worried she doesn't have any more time to wait for help, because this sinkhole is getting closer and closer to swallowing her house.

During that Channel 9 investigation in July, Eyewitness News discovered that the city knows about the dangerous problem, but it will take a year to fix the failing drainage system because of their long backlog.

[IMAGES: West Charlotte sinkhole stuck on stormwater services waitlist]

And Channel 9 found that sinkhole isn't the only alarming problem on the backlog.

Eyewitness News obtained records that show as of April, 1,000 city addresses still have problems that haven't even been assigned to an engineer.

Once someone is assigned, that resident can still get bumped down the list behind new, high-priority cases if the city doesn't think the issue is very serious.

The city expects its project backlog to more than double by 2027.

Council members think the problem is only getting worse because Charlotte is seeing a huge population increase but not enough new money.

Cox Media Group