UPDATE: Not a Sinkhole, But a Burst Pipe in Dover

Traffic along a segment of Jerry Smith Road in Rover, near Lanson Creek Lane, a private road, was stopped after noon today, June 6, after a report of a suspected sinkhole was called in to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office.

At the scene shortly before 3 p.m., Master Deputy Scott Skolnick said in actuality the event was a broken pipe underground that caused water to rush across the street between two culverts.

"It was just a culvert that washed in and a cement pipe that gave out," he said.

On the scene, too, were workers from the the county's maintenance department, working to "build a dam to stop the water" and to fill the hole with gravel, Skolnick said.

The work at 3 p.m. was still ongoing but expected to be completed shortly.

Skolnick said that when he arrived on the scene, the hole was a about 2- to 3-feet in diameter and about 4-feet deep. With the water flowing, he added, "it grew to about six feet in a half-hour."

He said a similar incident had happened recently down the road, to the south.

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EARLIER:

Deputies are on scene of what appears to be a sinkhole in the area of Jerry Smith Road and Lanson Creek Lane, according to a report from the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office.

The hole was approximately 2 feet in diameter, "but since the deputy has arrived on scene, he is reporting that it appears to be getting bigger," according to the initial report, released to the media shortly after 1 p.m. today, June 6.

Jerry Smith Road at Lanson Creek Lane was reported closed in both directions.