UPDATE: Lakehurst Sinkhole Filled; Detour Ended

A sinkhole that was reported Monday evening has been filled and traffic is again flowing normally on Brown Avenue in Lakehurst.

Motorists traveling through downtown Lakehurst had to take an alternate route earlier today as police detoured drivers around a sinkhole that was reported Monday evening.

Brown Avenue was closed from 3rd Street to Railroad Avenue as borough and Ocean County road crews inspected the hole, which was approximately 2 feet in diameter. The Lakehurst Fire Department was on scene to help with traffic control.

Chief Eric Higgins said that the hole was reported at about 5:40 p.m. by a Verizon employee working on a nearby utility pole.

Lakehurst Emergency Management Coordinator Danny Barker arrived to inspect the sunken-in pavement. He broke a hole through and his initial assessment found that a gap of about one foot had developed between the under-pavement and the street layer in the area immediately surrounding the hole.

Higgins said that it it still too early to determine if the hole is related to the severe weather and rains brought by over the weekend.