Drilling mishap causes hole, closes Maitland Boulevard exit off I-4

The driver of a white sedan exiting eastbound Interstate 4 onto Maitland Boulevard on Monday found themselves stuck in more than just rush-hour traffic. The ground opened up just under the car’s front tires, leaving it wedged into an ever-growing hole in the pavement.

Maitland Assistant Fire Chief Charles Van Camp said a call came in 4 p.m. Oct. 26 reporting a sinkhole swallowing the asphalt spanning the two lanes of the eastbound Maitland Boulevard exit off of I-4. One vehicle was stuck in the hole, but the driver was able to exit the vehicle before emergency services arrived. Van Camp said the driver was uninjured, and the car was towed away with minimal damage.

Van Camp said the hole, which grew to 15-feet wide and 4-feet deep, formed as I-4 Ultimate workers were digging nearby under the expressway.

“As they were digging, a ‘pavement failure’ occurred,” Van Camp said.

Jessica Keane, public information officer for the Florida Department of Transportation, said the hole opened up as workers were doing horizontal drilling under the roadway, which she said is an industry-standard procedure done during road projects and previously during I-4 Ultimate work without consequence.

But she said workers ran into an “unforeseen condition underground,” which led to the hole opening up on the exit ramp. Keane said the damage is not the result of a sinkhole.

“We’re monitoring the area and continuing to evaluate and investigate what happened,” Keane said.

Repairs to the exit ramp were made overnight, and the ramp reopened Tuesday morning.

Keane said drill work in the area was stalled Tuesday while the investigation into what caused the hole continued.

“We don’t want to proceed with anything until we know what happened so we can avoid it happening again,” Keane said.