DENVER, N.C. — What started as a sinkhole in a Denver community has grown into a much larger problem.
[PAST COVERAGE: Neighbors to repair sink hole after Lincoln County says can't help with repairs]
Young families with children and elderly people have to cross over a huge hole in order to get out of their neighborhood on Hickory Creek Drive.
The problem is that the road is private.
County leaders said state law forbids them from paying for repairs to private roads, so residents were told they’d have to fix it themselves.
They started, but they didn’t have enough money to finish the project.
Now, neighbors are raising money in order to pay for the road repairs.
In the meantime, vehicles can’t travel down the road, which is used by mail carriers, garbage trucks and emergency vehicles.
"It's hard. It kind of makes Christmas not so enjoyable,” said resident Heather Price.
The Lincoln County manager said it would take a change in state law to allow county funds to be used on a private road.
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