You trust the road beneath your tires. But what if that trust is misplaced? Sinkholes are increasingly turning ordinary streets into danger zones. And the cost of ignoring them is skyrocketing.

Each year, sinkholes swallow roads, homes and businesses around the world, including Canada, the United Kingdom, Kenya, South Africa and the United States.

They disrupt daily life, contaminate water supplies and cause significant damage to buildings and structures — often with devastating economic impact in economically disadvantaged regions. Repairs can cost hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars. With government budgets already stretched thin, it is critically important to prevent rather than fix sinkholes.

Sinkholes are sometimes mistaken for potholes, but they are far more dangerous.

Potholes are surface nuisances that form on the surface due to wear and tear and freeze-thaw cycles. Sinkholes, meanwhile, start deep underground. They form when water dissolves rocks like limestone and gypsum or when underground soils........

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