Workers Discover Two Sinkholes, Building Foundation At Athletic Stadium Excavation Site
Contractors excavating the site of the Mercer County Senior High School athletic complex. (Image: Harrodsburg Herald/Robert Moore.)
Robert Moore
Herald Staff
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The Mercer County Board of Education learned that workers found two sinkholes while excavating the new athletic complex and a building foundation next to Moberly Road.
David Milam, vice president for Central Kentucky at Trace Creek Construction, which is serving as the construction manager for the project, informed the board at its regular meeting on Thursday, June 18.
“I’m going to say everyone’s favorite word on the athletic field,” Milam said. “Sinkhole.”
Milam reassured the board that the recently discovered sinkholes do not appear to be as extreme as the one they encountered while building the new Mercer County Elementary School, which is nearing completion.
Trace Creek served as the construction manager for that project as well. In 2024, contractors discovered a sinkhole measuring 40 feet by 80 feet by 35 feet deep at the new elementary school site. That sinkhole was not located under the building, but the school board was forced to authorize an additional $150,000 in funding to fix it.
Milam said the sinkholes at the athletic stadium site can be repaired using the same method they used at the elementary school.
“We did put in the project an allowance we can draw from,” Milam said Thursday. He said contractors will start with one located on the 50-yard line.
“I have no concerns about it,” Milam told the board.
School board members asked about the foundation workers had discovered.
“It was an old house foundation,” Milam said. He said engineers will determine if additional work is needed to get the site to the proper elevation.
“There are some potential costs to disposing of the old concrete foundation,” Milam said. “Other than that, things are moving along well.”
Milam said Trace Creek was comfortable with where they were regarding the schedule. He said he’s pleased with the contractor’s progress. He noted that contractors were blasting or drilling every day.
“The blasting seems to be going very smoothly,” Milam said.
At the new elementary school, Milam said workers were finishing the interior, while some of the exterior work, including laying asphalt, had been held up by the recent rains.
“We’ll continue to work on through the end of the month on the outside,” Milam said. He said they are looking at laying sod next week.
State inspection of the new elementary school will be this week. Once that’s completed, the district will receive the certificate of occupancy, allowing school employees to begin moving into the new building.
Board member Cliff Prewitt asked about several exposed areas from digging.
“That’s a little gray area; we still got to figure that one out,” Milam said. One of the areas, he said, was at the border of the state’s right-of-way. Milam said they would have to determine who is responsible for repairing it. He said they hope to complete the work on the driveway next week.
“This is probably going to be the busiest summer,” Superintendent Jason Booher said, with the opening of the new elementary school and the construction on the athletic project.
When they receive the keys to the new school, employees will begin moving furniture and teachers’ belongings into the building. Booher announced they will hold an open house of the new elementary school on Tuesday, July 14, at 6 p.m.
At Thursday’s meeting, the school board approved purchasing weights for the weight room and flooring for the athletic stadium. The board approved purchasing weights at a cost of $173,430 with money from a local donation and flooring at a cost of $25,689.50 with money from the bequest from a late physician’s estate, Booher said.
Booher also said they were trying to finalize the rendering of the new turf at the new stadium.
