Sinkhole cuts off Alamance neighborhood

"There's a hundred people that, at this point, can't get in or out unless its by foot, and we don't how long they're goiong to be able to do that by foot," said Laura Glode, who lives on Tangle Ridge Trail.

"I have a small business, my son and I," resident John Pertischi said. "We can't get out of here to go to work. I've got an employee who's not working today."

There is about 3 feet of walkable road left, but resident Mike Craig said even that is unsafe.

"Where you see the edge here, it's undercut with air pockets. So, this can go at any time," Craig said.

Glode said the sinkhole is more than just an inconvenience. It's a matter of safety, she said, noting that several of her family members have serious health needs.

Alamance County officials said ambulances, fire trucks and police vehicles can drive up to one side of the sinkhole, but the person having an emergency would have to drive up the road to meet them and cross the sinkhole.

The North Carolina Forest Service will move a temporary bridge used in logging operations to the neighborhood on Friday to allow vehicles to get over the sinkhole. But residents will have to unload and set up the bridge themselves.

Because Trangle Ridge Trail is a private road, the state Department of Transportation told residents they will have to foot the bill to fix it.

"The estimate that we've had from the people who have been gracious enough to come out since midnight last night was about $30,000 to repair it," Craig said.

Some residents asked if DOT could take over the road, but officials that that would happen only after the road is brought up to state standards, which would include repairing the sinkhole.