While many are frustrated with detours and traffic caused by the sinkhole on Route 80 in Wharton, one local ice cream shop found a way to sweeten the situation.
Das' Creamery in Budd Lake introduced its "Sinkhole Sundae," this past weekend. The item includes vanilla ice cream, fudge and chocolate cake crunchies on top. The shop got creative with the design of the dessert that comes with a shovel spoon in a construction cup.
"We were just trying to be lighthearted and bring some joy, coping with this inconvenience. It affects everyone in our community. It affects me personally coming to and from work. People are enjoying the lightheartedness of a serious situation," said owner Komal Das.
She said since the "Sinkhole Sundae" released on Sunday afternoon, she has had about 25 orders of the unique dessert.
The ice cream shop, which also has a location in Morristown, is feeling the love from its community on social media. One Facebook comment under the post introducing the flavor reads "I love being from NJ. This is EXACTLY what we need right now."
Another comment reads: "Gotta have a sense of humor about this stuff! And really, doesn’t ice cream just make all of life’s aggravations just a little bit better?"
Das' Creamery is a family owned dessert eatery located at 100 U.S. Highway 46. It has been serving customers for over 10 years.
The new menu item comes just in time as New Jersey starts to see some warmer weather with temperatures reaching a high of close to 50 degrees Monday.
The ice cream looks to take people's minds off the sinkhole that caused all eastbound lanes on Route 80 in Morris County to shut down on Feb. 10 as construction continues.
A precise completion timeline has not been announced by the New Jersey Department of Transportation, but repairs "will take a minimum of several weeks," according to NJDOT spokesperson Steve Schapiro.
Last week, the NJDOT "identified 90 locations to be assessed and mitigate potential instability or possible voids."
These holes were described as "an empty space or cavity that exists underground. It is not a sinkhole," said Schapiro.
The sinkhole is located west of the exit for Route 15. Morris County was dealing with a sinkhole problem in December when a larger gaping hole on Route 80 east in Wharton caused the highway to close for four days.
NJDOT is aware that the holes were likely caused by the abandoned mine shafts that existed nearly 300 years ago. Morris County is home to more than 100 abandoned underground mines, most located on the northwestern half of the region, according to a 2020 geographical report.