It has been one week since the massive sinkhole opened up in Land O’ Lakes and swallowed two homes. Work to clean it up and fix it is on hold as crews continue to check for stability around the sinkhole.

Crews were back on site Friday doing core drilling and checking the stability of the road surrounding the sinkhole.

“We're testing the stability of the soils, what we're doing out here is really looking at the stability of the roadway, and seeing what kind of other conditions are out here that may be a concern," said Department Manager of Geotechnical Services at Intertek PSI, Jonathan Thrasher.        

Crews are concerned about sandy or loose areas under the pavement.

“Loose zones for example with the sand, basically loose or not very dense zones, or the consistency of the soil is relatively soft as well," said Thrasher.

Officials say it is crucial work to make sure it’s safe to begin heavy equipment work in the sinkhole and around it.

“We are sitting down and we will award or negotiate a contract with a debris removal company and water decontamination team to come in here and actually start working on the removal of the debris and water," said Assistant County Administrator for Public Safety, Kevin Guthrie.

Earlier in the week, dirt from the sides of the sinkhole started to fall in, that has since stopped.

“I'm confident that if it was going to continue to fall, it would have done it by now,” said Guthrie. “So I think the rain actually in this case may have actually helped us to create a slope and give it a little more stability."

The sinkhole has not grown since it opened Friday and is still dormant. The county hopes at the earliest to begin cleaning out debris and backfilling the sinkhole with some dirty by Saturday, if not by early next week.

The cleanup work could take months at a cost up to $2 million, depending on the methods used.