When will sinkhole be fixed?

KENMORE, N.Y. (WIVB) - If you've driven through the busy intersection of Elmwood and Kenmore lately, a sinkhole probably looks familiar to you.

It opened up there weeks ago, and it still hasn't been fixed. What's the hold up?

It's been about a month since a barricade around a sink hole on Elmwood and Kenmore Avenues was put in place. Getting it fixed required finding out who's responsible.

When News 4 asked the Village of Kenmore last week, they pointed to Erie County.

Andy Mang of Kenmore Public Works said, "It is in the village. But it is a county highway, and it is a safety issue. So we're hoping that they'll come and fix it and get it taken care of."

Erie County Department of Public Works Commissioner Jerry Sentz originally figured it was Kenmore's problem, "We had sent a letter to the Village of Kenmore asking them to repair the waterline and then repair the road when they were done."

But it looks like the problem rests with the City of Buffalo, since the undermining of the road was caused by a faulty city water line.

City of Buffalo Engineer Peter Merlo said, "There was a break on that line on the city side, but still located in the Village of Kenmore. So we determined that, that it was our pipe."

The intersection is a bit tricky for motorists who are forced to merge to one lane just before the barricades. After our inquiries, Commissioner Sentz says he made some calls to get the ball rolling.

Commissioner Sentz said, "The good news is it's going to be repaired."

But first, the city will take a look at how much work needs to be done.

Merlo said, "How far they got to go down, what are the limits of the pavement that needs to be restored? But we are going to repair that."

Commissioner Sentz said, "They need to go in, repair the water line and then when they're done repairing the water line, they'll of course, fill the hole and restore the pavement."

And that work could begin as soon as this Thursday.