SAN DIEGO — Repair work on a sinkhole in North County continues with the City of Encinitas announcing a new estimated timeframe for the reopening of the affected area.

Located on Lake Drive in Cardiff, the sinkhole was first reported in late February after bouts of heavy rain swept through the region. The specific area is between Sea Village and Wales Drive.

The sinkhole affected a two-lane residential street, with officials encouraging residents to avoid the area and, instead, use a detour route.

At that time, officials say crews relocated all of the utilities, including gas, electric, water and cable. Once all the utilities had been relocated, work began on designing and installing shoring to stabilize the sinkhole and provide a safe area for workers.

In the month following, overnight rainfall on March 10 caused the sinkhole to expand further with city officials saying precipitation levels in the area reached about 1.3 inches. They originally estimated the repair work to last throughout March and into April.

As this month edges to a close, officials are estimating that Lake Drive may not reopen to the public until late May, according to Encinitas Government & Community Relations Administrator Portland Bates who discussed this matter with FOX 5 on Thursday.

Bates assured that progress continues at the sinkhole site, but says “the reconstruction has experienced several delays due to rain events during every week of March.” He explained that the repair extension is due to the loss of productivity on part of these circumstances.