Spokane County crews fill 12-foot wide, 5-foot deep sink hole south of city

What looked like a 1-square-foot pothole in East Conner Road south of Spokane turned out to be a 12-foot wide and 5-foot deep sinkhole.

The hole closed the road Wednesday just west of South Sands Road near Valleyford as Spokane County Public Works crews dug up part of the roadway and filled the hole.

North of Spokane, near Chewelah, State Route 231 was down to one lane of alternating traffic because recent rain and runoff caused part of the hill holding up the roadway to start sliding, according to a tweet from the state Department of Transportation.

WSDOT crews installed a temporary light to allow traffic to pass through the area near the junction with Highway 395.

Editor’s note: This story was updated to reflect that there was a lane closure on State Route 231, not Highway 395.