Georgia Department of Transportation workers may begin digging Wednesday morning at the site of a potentially deep sinkhole that opened early Monday in a Gainesville shopping center parking lot.

“Hopefully by tomorrow afternoon, we will have the asphalt peeled back and can see the entire eroded area,” district spokeswoman Teri Pope said.

The sinkhole is next to Barry’s Better Menswear in the parking lot of the Lakeshore Place shopping center in the northeast corner of Ga. 53 Connector/John Morrow Parkway and Pearl Nix Parkway.

The busy intersection is surrounded by retail establishments, including Lakeshore Mall.

Maintenance engineers “will inspect the area and determine the root cause of the sinkhole and order needed material,” Pope said. “We have placed tentative orders but need to know the size of the drainage structures because they are custom-made.”

The DOT’S “work plan could change depending on what we find after asphalt is removed and, as always, this schedule is weather permitting.”

Workers discovered the sinkhole Monday morning after it was reported by the property owner.

The opening is about the size of a basketball, but the sinkhole widens to about 20 feet just below the asphalt and appears to be about 20 feet deep, DOT officials have said.

Until repairs are made, shoppers can only reach stores in the center from John Morrow Parkway.