HARLINGEN — A vast sinkhole about 20 feet from the Family Dollar on Rangerville Road will keep the store closed until engineers determine the location is safe, city officials say.
“For safety purposes, the store must remain closed until Family Dollar can bring in professional structural engineers to determine if the foundation is damaged,” Rodrigo Davila, planning and development director for the city, said via email.
The store at 110 South Rangerville Road near I-69E/U.S. 77/83 sits atop a bluff over the rain-swollen Arroyo Colorado. The hole begins 21 feet from the store and continues for another 90 feet where the soil collapsed and washed away over the side of the bluff.
The breach in the soil is about 18 feet wide and follows the length of a white PVC pipe which drains runoff water into the arroyo.
A second washout can be observed toward the rear of the building on the same side, but this one is only about two feet wide and six feet long.
“If the structural engineers of their choosing determine there was damage, then Family Dollar will have to remedy the problem,” Davila added. “The store will remain closed until either the problem is fixed or the structural engineers determine there has been no foundation damage.”
An email seeking information about the store closure from Family Dollar was not answered.
