Sinkhole Diverts Disney Traffic

Visitors to Disney World might be surprised by the sight of dump trucks at a highway entrance just outside the park. It's not a new attraction that's under construction. It's a giant sinkhole the length of a large mobile home that is forcing visitors to find alternative routes to the amusement park.

As CBS Affiliate WKMG in Orlando reports, dump trucks have been filling the 40-foot-deep hole that swallowed a road sign and threatened to take out a light pole. The roadway near the sinkhole was sagging and cracked, but nothing was found to have fallen in the hole.

"We get calls for these all the time, but they're usually just potholes," said Osceola Country Deputy Paul Spears. "This is the biggest one I've ever seen."

The roadway collapsed on Tuesday. And, even if the repaired hole is stabilized, officials say it could take weeks for them to make sure the road is safe enough to reopen.

Someone reported the sinkhole by calling 911. The damaged off-ramp opened in April to lead eastbound traffic into Disney World and the new Animal Kingdom theme park.

Hundreds of sinkholes appear every year in Florida. Most are small, but a few swallow homes.

Sinkholes form when seeping water dissolves underlying soil and rock over years. The water carries away the soil, leaving a hollow area that can collapse.