One resident of Belhaven is trying to get something done about what he calls a pothole in the middle of Linden Place.
It’s not a pothole but a sinkhole, which is more complicated to repair than a pothole.
Francis Rullan, who lives at 1613 Linden Place, emailed the Northside Sun about the hole that he reports has been there for “over 25 years.”
That would mean the trouble spot has survived the administrations of Jackson mayors Harvey Johnson in his first term, Frank Melton, Leslie B. McLemore, Harvey Johnson in his second term, Chokwe Lumumba, Charles Tillman, Tony Yarber, Chokwe Antar Lumumba and the current one, John Horhn, who took office on July 1.
Rullan wrote: “One more time... for over 25 years, this pothole in the middle of Linden Place has been reported and neglected. Linden Place is utilized as a major thoroughfare linking Fortification and Riverside. Our family has resided here since our home was constructed in 1956. My wife and I have reported this miserable situation repeatedly over the years. We’ve heard it all from members of the City Council and through multiple mayoral administrations. Local TV stations have not been interested in ‘Being on our side’ or ‘Focusing on us.’ Say what you will. We’ve heard it all. This is a pathetic result of failed city administration for all to ignore and avoid.”
Bill Osborne, a neighbor of Rullan, said the hole has been there for the 25 years that he and his wife, Susan, have lived on Linden Place.
“I have reported it to a succession of city council members (Virgi Lindsay and Kevin Parkinson), the Greater Belhaven Foundation, Jackson 311 and to JXN Water (which is responsible for the city’s water and sanitary sewer systems),” he said. “JXN Water told Rep. David Blount that it’s not their problem. It is a storm sewer problem not a sanitary sewer problem. You can see all the way down to the sewer.”
Osborne said he began reporting the hole about 10 years ago and that he put up a folding traffic barricade that he “borrowed” from another a location where there was no hole so that drivers would note its presence.
“It would damage the front end or back end of a car if one hit it,” he said. “It’s a serious problem.”
Nic Lott, director of communications for the city of Jackson, found reports of the Linden Place trouble spot dating to 2013.
He said that the sanitary sewer in that location was repaired in 2013, 2018 and 2021 and that the storm sewer at that location was repaired in 2014.
The city plans to make repairs “soon,” said Lott, who did not provide a date when repairs would begin but said he asked to be kept in the loop about them.
There’s an even bigger sinkhole, also in the Belhaven neighborhood, that is on Fortification Street, near New Stage Theatre.
Justin Peterson, president of The StateStreet Group, the Jackson-based real estate development company responsible for The Quarter House, brought a sinkhole to the attention of the Jackson City Council during its May 20 meeting.
He read an email that he sent on April 26 to an employee of the public works department to say the sinkhole needed attention. He said his email brought no response from the city and he wanted to make sure council members knew about the sinkhole in need of repairs.
He said the city agreed to repair the sinkhole after several meetings, but the repair isn’t a simple one.
A collapsed stormwater pipe in the city’s right-of-way appears to have caused the problem, but more exploration work must be done before repairs can be made, Peterson said. JXN Water, not the city of Jackson, would be responsible for the repair if the collapsed pipe is a sewer pipe.
Since the council meeting, the State Street Group hired a contractor to hammer in place metal sheet next to the driveway to prevent erosion.
It’s been three months since Peterson spoke to the city council and repairs have not yet been made.
Michael Gray-Lewis, a forensic civil engineer and resident of Rolling Wood, would like the new administration to create a plan that includes a contractor who can use a camera to inspect culverts throughout the city that have issues that could cause them to fail.
If caught before a collapse, there are minimally invasive ways to make repairs to infrastructure before it collapses and those repairs usually cost less than what a repair to a sewer collapse does, he said.
“Now is the time for the city to do it because it doesn’t have to worry about the drinking water or sewer systems since JXN Water handles those,” he said.
Gray-Lewis said he spent two years sending numerous letters and emails to city leaders and met with some of them, asking the city to repair a sinkhole in Rolling Wood subdivision.
“I was screaming for two years about it until they finally had enough of me,” he said.
The city declared the repair of the sinkhole that was adjacent to the residential structure at 135 Yucca Drive an emergency in February 2024 and made repairs. Last week, it appeared as if the city had returned to shore up the work by adding sand, he said.
Since that repair was made, a four-foot by four-foot sinkhole has developed next to his house, he said.
About two years ago, Gray-Lewis studied the plat of Rolling Wood subdivision to familiarize himself with the locations of the culverts that were installed decades ago, He believes about 25 percent of the front yards in the subdivision have “pitting,” which can be a pre-cursor to a culvert collapse.
The city of Jackson has lacked a public works director and fully-staffed public works department, Gray-Lewis said, and that’s made it difficult to get infrastructure problems resolved. He believes that will change.
“I have faith that this administration will take action to put the right people in management roles and broaden the public works department,” he said.
