Department of Enterprise Services (DES) grounds staff discovered a void – an area where the surface layer has collapsed – in the west Capitol Campus lawn on Thursday, Sept. 17.

The void is next to a sidewalk adjacent to the South Diagonal roadway, about 20 yards or so from the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and the Insurance Building. View a map showing the exact location of the void.

When it was first discovered, the hole in the turf was about 3 feet wide, six feet long and three-and-half feet deep.

What caused the void is unknown at this time. The ground around the hole is dry and there are no leaking pipes or other obvious reasons that would cause the soil to collapse.

DES grounds staff has placed barricades and caution tape around the void and placed a plywood sheet over the opening for public safety reasons.

DES will excavate the site early next week to investigate the possible causes for the collapse.

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