TEMPLE (February 23, 2010)—Engineers have come up with a fix for the bridge in the 2300 block of South Kegley in Temple that was closed because of a sinkhole that measures six feet across and about 20 feet deep, and city officials hope to have the bridge open to traffic again by the weekend.

The bridge, which is about a half-mile north of the intersection of Charter Oaks and Kegley, was closed after the sinkhole formed over the weekend as the result of erosion caused by heavy runoff from recent rains.

Tuesday, Temple’s public works staff met with representatives of theTexas Department of Transportation and a local engineering firm to come up with a fix for the immediate problem as well as a long-term plan to protect the bridge from erosion.

The fix for the sinkhole will involve removing loose material from the hole and then backfilling with large rocks, concrete near the bottom and road base with a new asphalt surface, the city said.

Weather permitting; officials hope to have the work finished by the weekend.

A long-term erosion protection plan is in the works.