Repairs underway for sinkholes at Ocala community

OCALA, Fla. (FOX 35 WOFL) - Repairs are now underway at the Wynchase subdivision of Fore Ranch in Ocala, where sinkholes opened in April. 

Crews have been repairing the foundation of the town homes. Truckloads of grout were emptied into the ground, but they say there’s more work to be done. 

There is a rumbling of repairs in Ocala as crews work to snap the foundation back into shape. All of this work at the Wynchase subdivision of Fore Ranch is happening two months after sinkholes opened, forcing eight families to evacuate. 

“We’re just tightening up the ground, make sure none of this happens again,” said Jacob Goad, who works at Foundation Services.

Crews say they’ve been working on the sinkholes for about a month, filling the road with grout and now the holes themselves.

“Then we’ll have another crew come in the house and they’ll do some chemical foam and that’ll do the floors inside,” said Goad. 

Neighbors say they’re happy to see repairs happening since the sinkholes have also caused traffic problems. 

“That whole part was blocked off and everyone had to go this little loop to get out,” said neighbor Seth Gustavson.

He says he’s grateful the sinkholes didn’t open near or under his home.

“They haven’t been under them thankfully, so it lets me keep the faith in the fact that this has an okay foundation,” said Gustavson.

While he remains cautiously optimistic, crews say there’s no reason to fear.

“They’re going to be safe, that’s for sure. Pumping a lot of grout in here. Shouldn’t happen again.”

Crews say these are some of the larger sinkholes they’ve had to fill, so it could take a while to complete. They expected work to wrap in July.