News 12 at 6 o'clock; March 16, 2009

JOHNSTON, S.C. --- A road in Edgefield County is partially closed as the earth literally keeps sinking in near a pond. Now, the SC DOT is out talking to 12 about the problem.

The problem is happening near Johnston on Holmes Pond Road. That's just outside of town near Highway 121.

As our crew was on the scene today, the road was giving way, the dirt being pushed around by the overflowing water. People who live out there are suffering through an inconvenience and are glad something is being done about these water woes.

Dan Holley gets a look at the problem, before he heads off to pay his taxes. "Well, this is a historical day. I knew it was going to happen, but I just didn't know when," says Dan.

It's happening now and three straight days of rain is not helping.

"You can see where the water is going in," says SC DOT District 2 Maintenance Engineer Mark Dezurik. "It should be going in the pipe (which is in the water)."

Instead, the water is flowing between the pipe and the road. There is also another pipe dropping water from another pond into the pond that's causing a problem.

That water, says Mark, "is traveling underneath the road on top of the pipe to get to the stream bed (on the other side of the road)."

That water underneath the road is causing the other side of the road to simply collapse.

"I would be going that way," says Dan pointing to the closed part of the road. "But, now I gotta go way out of the way."

He's actually going 5 miles out of the way. We clocked the detour around the closed road and that's how long it takes.

It's all an inconvenience for some, in the name of safety. The road is still in tact for the most part, but it may not be safe enough to drive on.

"There was a separation of the pipe possibly and it causes a small void," Mark tells News 12. "And, it got larger and larger over time."

Or, he says, the problem could be a clogged pipe. Now, it's wait for the rain to stop and the water levels to drop in the pond before the SC DOT can take a full look and know what the exact problem is.

"I hope the highway department will get behind it and do whatever is necessary to correct it," adds Dan.

Here's what we're told. This could be a pricey fix, depending on the problem. It could also be a quick fix that is done in a week, or it could take a lot longer than that.

This did not all of a sudden happen. A neighbor who talked with News 12 says, the problem has been going on a little while. She said she went to check out the road last week and that's when she called the County to let them know of the problem. Then, the road was closed.

The detour is a complicated one. To get around the closed portion of the road, you need to make a right off of Holmes Pond Road onto Hardy Place Road. Then, you need to make another right onto Highway 191. Then, make a right onto Airport Road. Then, once you get to Berry Farm Road, make another right. Finally, Holmes Pond Road will be on your right.

You just need to reverse the directions if you are on the Airport Road side of the closed road.