E.R. Snell Contracting of Snellville began work this morning to repair a sinkhole off Interstate 85 near the Georgia border.

The hole, which measures 20 feet long by 30 feet wide by 10 feet deep, is about one mile south of the Georgia border and one mile north of Exit 177 in Hart County.

A DOT crew found the hole Tuesday morning during a routine maintenance inspection of guardrail. The DOT proceeded to close the outside shoulder and outside southbound lane of the interstate at milepost 178.

The work is expected to be completed by Tuesday evening, weather permitting. Additional work will continue along the shoulder of the interstate through the end of the month.

The projected is estimated to cost $587,000.

The sinkhole was caused by a section of a drainage pipe that runs under the interstate collapsing, said Teri Pope, spokeswoman in the DOT's Gainesville-based office.

"Water couldn’t flow through the pipe and found another way out," she said. "Over time, water created the cavity and the sinkhole."