By LeaAnne Klentzman

In Richmond last Friday, according to local rain gauges, a down pour of  7.25 inches pelted the banks of the Brazos River, you know, the banks that run right beside the new Fort Bend County Justice Center and Courthouse.  

During the deluge it was widely reported that the underground tunnel from the jail to the new justice center, you know, the one built to herd prisoners underground ... well, it was said to have collapsed.  Officials learned about the problem when the road buckled and took on the appearance of a nice rectangle sinkhole. So the road was closed and traffic rerouted.

Monday, when folks began to officially drift back to work, an inquiry was made about he collapse of the tunnel and the sinkhole in the road.  The official word is .. it was not a collapse, just some of the voids were filled with water and debris.  Furthermore, the road did not buckle, the asphalt just  shifted. Humm, you say, isn’t a tunnel by definition a void? So if the voids were permeated by water or debris does that just make it wet yet still empty?  And, if the road did not collapse why did the asphalt shift down so many inches making it unsafe to drive on?

Silly us, we thought engineering types were doing this job. Nope, its  wordsmiths. 

What ya gonna believe, them or your lying eyes? 

Back to Top