Continuing with my research on sinkholes, I looked into the repair process, to see if its actaually possible at all. And I found out a company who is an expert in the field of sinkholes repair. They described the process here:Shallow, isolated sinkholes are often repaired by excavating to rock and building a “plug”. But when a sinkhole is too deep or too close to a structure, Rembco’s remediation process is ideal. We use specialized drilling equipment and innovative grouting techniques to treat the sinkhole without major disruption at the ground surface. Injection pipes are advanced to bedrock in a grid pattern, and a thick, mortar-like grout is injected to build a continuous concrete “cap” over the problematic rock features. This technique, known as cap grouting, prevents further soil loss into the sinkhole but, by itself, does not return the site to a useable condition. Rembco completes the sinkhole repair procedure by following the capping operation with compaction grouting as the injection pipes are withdrawn, to fill voids and restore adequate bearing capacity in the affected soils.
There are also two very interesting video clips showing the steps of a repair. The videos can be seen at their website: http://www.rembco.com/sinkholes.html
Thoughts: Although I am more fascinated about how it is formed and also the consequences of sinkholes. But, it is also important to look at the aftermath and how it could be repaired to save lives and preserve the overall look of our habitats. The repairing process can also reflects on a metaphor that, it is a closing down and covering an 'underground society', which I looked into before in the Victorian Times.
