Bathurst residents want solution to annual sinkholes

Sinkholes are an annual occurrence along Rough Waters Drive in Bathurst but residents say this year they are bigger than ever and it's time for a permanent fix to the problem.

Jason Kinsman said the holes are patched with fill every spring but this year a sinkhole in his driveway is big enough to swallow his truck and he hasn't been able to park there since April.

"I called the city figuring, you know, they need to do something about this," Kinsman said.

"And they came over a few days later and said that it was not their problem, that it was the old mill's problem."

Kinsman said city officials told him the sinkhole was caused by a rotting pipe from an old mill that closed in 2005.

"For my kids, they don't want to go anywhere near this driveway so it's very frustrating. You know, it's a situation that shouldn't be happening. This should have been fixed long ago."

Green Investment Group now owns the mill property but no one from the company has been available to comment on the sinkholes.

Olivier Maltby also owns a property on Rough Waters Drive, which he rents out.

He said his tenants are complaining, but he hasn't had any luck getting the owners of the mill property or the municipality to help either.

"Can't do much, that's why I've been trying to contact people — local MLAs and people with resources — trying to get something done," Maltby said.

In the meantime, the sinkholes are blocked but both Maltby and Kinsman say a permanent solution has to be found.