Work Sealing Cambria Drive Cave Stops After New Chamber Found

WILLIAMSON COUNTY, TX — The discovery of a fifth chamber previously undetected in the cave below Cambria Drive was found this week running toward Ephraim Road, prompting a work stoppage on efforts to seal the underground network, county officials said.

The additional chamber was found on Wednesday, according to county officials. The new chamber was visually identified as a possible void late Wednesday afternoon when a small portal less than one foot in diameter was discovered.

As a result of the discovery, ongoing work in sealing the cave has ceased as required by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality protocol, county officials explained. The county's environmental consultants and TCEQ officials will inspect the void, officials said. More information will be made available after they have finished their analysis and mapping, according to county officials.

Mapping of the fifth chamber released Friday reveals a very irregular shape to the underground formation, officials noted. The new chamber has a long, narrow crawl space before reaching the upper level of the chamber which has a maximum height of nine feet, officials said. The lower level of the chamber has a maximum height of just three feet, officials added.

"The geologists did not feel that this chamber was related to the void that was discovered during core sampling as they did not see the material that was used to fill the core hole in the ceiling of the chamber or any material that might have fallen during that process," officials explained.

The underground cave network was exposed in February when a portion of Cambria Drive collapsed at around 3 a.m. near the Woods of Brushy Creek neighborhood situated between Highway 183 and Cedar Park on the west and Interstate 35 and Round Rock to the east.

Graphic provided by Williamson County

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>>> Photos courtesy of Williamson County