REYNOLDSBURG, Ohio — For those who live or work in Reynoldsburg, it's a key part of the evening commute. But some are voicing safety concerns over a stretch of Brice Road.
Heading south, between Main Street and Livingston Avenue, you could easily miss it. Drivers who can see it swerve to avoid it. And it's causing some close calls.
The pavement near the curb appears to be cracked and sinking.
"It seems a little more congested, but not real bad,” said Dominic Elizondo, who has always lived in this neighborhood.
Elizondo said times are changing.
"I think like sewer lines and roadways need to be considered a priority prior to the population explosion,” he said.
Right across from the sinking pavement is the construction site for a brand new library. And a hundred yards north, there are plans for a mixed-use development.
As the road gets busier, residents fear it could turn into a sinkhole. One post on social media about it gave way to dozens of comments.
And the call for action was heard loud and clear by the city’s mayor, Joe Begeny.
“We've all seen videos in the past, where you see all of a sudden a car, and then it just gets swallowed up by something, and we don't want that next video to be the city of Reynoldsburg,” Begeny said. “So that's why we have crews out there today. And if it does look like there's even a potential for that. We'll block things off immediately, we'll make sure it's safe. "
The need to address the issue is urgent, with big plans for the other side of that guardrail.
“That’s actually going to be a park,” said Begeny. “It's a joint project between the city of Columbus and the city of Reynoldsburg that we're going to be developing it. We're going to call it Brice Park."
Mayor Begeny admits road repair is something Reynoldsburg has struggled with in the past.
“At one point in time, the city was only spending about $500,000 a year on road repairs before I got here. Now I think this year, not including some special projects, we're hitting about $5.6 million."
And he says it starts with paying attention to the calls for action, even by combing through the comments online.