A long-term solution for the sinkhole and the affected FM 1053 road between Fort Stockton and Imperial will be in the works in the near future according to Texas Department of Transportation Public Information Officer Gene Powell.

TxDOT shut down a section of FM 1053 -- between FM 11 and FM 1450 – on Friday because of a crack in the road that was caused by heavy rainfall.

“It happens every time we get an extreme rain, which has not been every year. It happened three times in the last five years maybe,” Powell said. “We’re not taking any chances of vehicles going down it and causing more damage until we can go under it and stabilize the edges, ditches. There’s been so much water running that it’s eroded the ditches a little bit and we need to stabilize it and repair the crack.”

TxDOT will need the area to dry before repairs can begin and with a significant amount of precipitation the last week, Powell says the goal is to have the road open by July 9 at the latest.

“It looks like Tuesday (July 6) before we can get out there. It’s too wet and it’s still going to rain the rest of this week on and off,” Powell stated. “The big heavy equipment we need to use we need it to be as dry as possible. We’ll have it open by the end of next. We’re shooting for July 8 but it could be July 9.”
The crack in FM 1053 magnifies an issue that has been going on for an extended period of time in that segment of the highway. A nearby orphan well that was not properly capped has caused the highway to have a significant dip in the past decade.

“It is a recurring problem,” Powell said.

The potential long-term solution – rerouting the road at FM 1050.

TxDOT currently has $30 million of funding for the project and on July 26 they will host a public meeting at Buena Vista High School in Imperial at 4 p.m. to hear input from the public on their proposal.

“We’re actually going to be relocating to 1050 is the proposal. I guess for the lack of a better word abandoning that road when we get that road built,” Powell said. “I don’t want to let the cat of the bag too much but there’s a road that were looking to take over from the county and rebuilding it to our standards.”