The Dollar Tree in Wildwood has been allowed to re-open after an inspection by a geotechnical engineering firm.
The Dollar Tree was abruptly closed Monday after concerns about a possible sinkhole. A sinkhole was never verified.
Joseph Duennes of the Sumter County Development Services Division at about 11:30 a.m. Tuesday notified Sumter County Administrator Bradley Arnold he would inform Dollar Tree management they could re-open after reviewing a report from Universal Engineering Services.
A team from Universal Engineering Services was at the site using ground penetrating radar as part of a thorough inspection.
“Employees claimed to have heard the ‘pinging’ noise since the store opened in December, 2018,” the report said of the store located at County Road 466A and County Road 462.
The investigation led to a steel column in the building.
“A rigid wire anchored to a joist stabilizer plate welded to the subject column was observed to be loose which would allow it to vibrate with change in the internal air pressure of the building or when the air handlers turn on. Universal Engineering Services was able to manually replicate the ‘pinging’ noise during the inspection. Therefore, Universal Engineering Services concluded that the ‘pinging’ noise heard is non-structural in nature,” the engineers wrote in the report.
You can read it in its entirety at this link: UESDOCS-#1661865-v1-LTR_Dollar_Tree_Wildwood_Rock_Properties