WILLIAMSON COUNTY, Texas — The waiting game is over for Williamson County residents wondering how long they’ll have to deal with the cave on Cambria Drive. 

The roof of the cave collapsed on Feb. 8 on the 8400 block of Cambria Drive in the Woods of Brushy Creek subdivision.

Williamson County has the seal of approval from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. TCEQ agrees that the proposal to close the cave meets the standards to protect water quality. 

“It also meets Williamson County’s objective of ensuring safety of reopening the road, which as minimal disruption to the neighborhood as possible,” said county engineer, Terron Evertson.

The section of Cambria Drive surrounding the cave has been closed off since February. Ever since, Tim Kelley has not been parking in his own driveway. 

“The most bother is not being to park in my house, and having to parallel park. A lot of the times my tires hit the curb, which I don’t think is very good for them,” Kelley said. “It’ even worse for my wife, because she goes grocery shopping and has to park.” 

Patsy Chamberlain has lived in the Brushy Creek neighborhood for 30 years. 

“It’s a good thing that it’s going to be taken care of now, because it’s been long enough and now we can drive directly home,” she said. 

The first step for the county is to remove material that fell into the 20-foot deep cave during the collapse. Then, it will be filled with gravel  and 18 inch layers of concrete and supportive wiring. County engineers said it will take 200 trucks of material and then the road will be reconstructed. Evertson said they are taking measures to keep the site safe and secure.

“We have had at least one person try to get into the cave and some possible small vandalism,” he said.  “As part of this contract, we’re going to have increase security, we’re going to have a security officer there 24/7. We’re going to try screen it off, so that it’s not such an attractive nuisance.” 

Evertson is also urging people to respect the barricades around the street, as neighbors are now bracing for the construction activity. 

“Probably going to be loud too, I’m guessing,” Kelley said. “So, it’ll be less normal than it is now even, before it becomes more normal.” 

Williamson County is now accepting bids and expects to begin repairs in June. The construction time length will depend on what the contractors estimate, but the county wants it completed as soon as possible.