SEFFNER, Fla. — Efforts are now underway to fill that deadly sinkhole in Seffner.
Monday, crews with heavy equipment started bringing in gravel with Hillsborough County engineers overseeing the project.
"The hole is what it is, but we're out here to make people safe," said Jon-Paul Lavandeira with Hillsborough County Code Enforcement.
Throughout the day, a slow but steady parade of gravel trucks began arriving to meet with heavy equipment.
Workers delicately scooped tons of fill, placing it into the sinkhole while maintaining what they hope is a safe distance of at least 20 feet to avoid destabilizing it.
"It's a void in the ground," said Lavandeira. "You don't want to bring heavy equipment up to the edge and try to risk things. Especially with a piece of equipment that has a long arm with the capability of stretching out far. It's just a risk we didn't feel was needed to be taken."
In 2013, this same sinkhole opened up under a house, killing Jeffrey Busch. Three homes had to be condemned and demolished. The hole was filled and the area was fenced off. But in 2015, it opened again.
Back then, engineers used the same gravel and water mixture to create a porous cork which allows water to still seep through, and hopefully prevent other sinkholes from opening in this same neighborhood.
"Nobody wants to repeat. That's not the ideal solution," said Lavandeira. "But if it does come, let it come to where we can control things and keep everyone safe and have a plan of attack to address it."
Fortunately, the sinkhole seems to be stable.
County workers say even though it took a couple of days to get things in order and find a qualified contractor, there's no indication any of the surrounding houses are in danger.
"We just did an assessment of the neighboring homes. Spoke with the neighbors. Didn't notice any telltale signs," said Lavandeira. "When you see things like large stress fractures or are seeing things where doors aren't opening and closing. Unusual noises that the neighbors can attest to or the homeowners contact you. We did a check of those and everyone was safe and good to go. And when we brought the engineer out here later on, they didn't see any cause for concern on that front either. So, we have that in our favor."
Another indication that the sinkhole is still very deep is that in addition to the gravel, they have had water trucks on location.
By midday they had emptied more than 5,000 gallons into the hole, only to watch it disappear, sifting its way into those underground voids.
They hope that the hole will not reopen again, but if it does, they say this is what was designed to happen -- predictable, manageable opening that they can keep fenced off for public safety. And then refill, again.