GPR Road Monitoring: Sinkhole Prevention System for Governments

Detect Sinkholes Before They Swallow Cars

Every year, thousands of sinkholes collapse without warning on streets and highways around the world — swallowing vehicles, destroying infrastructure, and claiming lives. The technology to prevent them already exists. What was missing was an operational model that any government could implement without needing to be a geophysics expert.

At Cartomex, we've developed a comprehensive preventive road monitoring system using GPR (Ground Penetrating Radar) designed so that municipalities, states, and infrastructure agencies can scan their streets and highways autonomously, while our team of geophysicists processes and interprets the data remotely to detect cavities, voids, and internal erosion — the conditions that precede a sinkhole — before the surface collapses.

You don't need to be geophysicists. You don't need specialized software. You just need to drive.

A Global Problem That Grows Every Year

Sinkholes are not exclusive to one region — they are a global phenomenon intensified by climate change, aging infrastructure, and uncontrolled urbanization. Some data:

• Mexico: The Paso Exprés sinkhole in Cuernavaca (2017) killed 2 people and left an 8-meter crater. In Puebla (2021), a sinkhole grew from 5 meters to 126 meters in diameter in just 14 days.
• Japan: Over 10,000 surface subsidence events are reported annually. In 2025, a fatal accident in Yashio (Saitama) was linked to subsurface collapse.
• United States: Florida, Texas, and Kentucky report hundreds of annual sinkholes in karst zones.
• Europe: Cities with century-old infrastructure like Rome, London, and Paris face recurring subsurface collapses.

The majority of these events could have been detected in advance through a systematic GPR monitoring program. The problem isn't the technology — it's that governments don't know an accessible solution exists.

How the Monitoring System Works

Our model separates data acquisition (done by your team) from processing and interpretation (done by us remotely). This reduces costs and allows scaling the program without depending on field specialists.

Step 1: Equipment — VIY5 Dual System

The monitoring system is based on VIY5 Ground Penetrating Radar by Transient Technologies, built with original Telbin technology in rugged fiberglass housings. The dual system combines two complementary frequencies for complete subsurface coverage:

Why two frequencies?

The combination of both antennas is key for effective sinkhole detection:

• VIY5-300 (300 MHz) — The primary scanning antenna. Its 0.3 m resolution maps cavity geometry in detail within the first 3-5 meters below the pavement, where most urban sinkholes originate. Includes a foldable cart with built-in odometer, ideal for vehicle towing.
• VIY5-125 (125 MHz) — The confirmation and deep exploration antenna. When the VIY5-300 detects an anomaly, the VIY5-125 verifies whether the cavity extends deeper and evaluates the stability of underlying strata down to 15 meters. Essential for karst zones, deep fill areas, or suspected advanced erosion.

Both units share the same acquisition software and data format, simplifying operation and processing. They connect to any Windows computer via USB or WiFi, and accept any external GPS receiver connected directly to the antenna. Built-in tilt sensors and automatic topographic correction are included.

Additional system components

• External GPS receiver (connects directly to GPR antenna, can function as trigger device)
• Windows laptop for field acquisition
• Towable cart with universal vehicle hitch
• Replaceable bottom protectors for both antennas

Step 2: Data Acquisition (Your Staff)

After 1-2 days of training, your staff can operate the equipment with no prior geophysics experience. Acquisition is automatic — your team only needs to:

• Hitch the cart to the vehicle
• Turn on the system (one button)
• Drive along established routes at normal speed (20-50 km/h)
• Transfer data at the end of each session

Step 3: Remote Processing (Cartomex)

Our geophysicists receive the data and process it with specialized software to:

• Identify cavities, voids, and zones of internal erosion beneath the pavement
• Classify anomalies by risk level (high, medium, low)
• Generate georeferenced maps with the exact location of each finding
• Produce an executive report with intervention recommendations

Step 4: Reports & Decision-Making

We deliver periodic reports (weekly, biweekly, or monthly depending on the program) that allow your government to prioritize interventions based on objective data, not citizen complaints or superficial visual inspections.

Pricing Models

We offer two schemes to adapt to each government's budget and needs:

What Does the GPR System Detect?

GPR emits electromagnetic pulses that penetrate the pavement and subsurface, recording the "echoes" that return when the signal encounters changes in ground properties. This allows identification of:

• Cavities and voids — Hollow spaces beneath pavement that can collapse
• Internal erosion — Zones where supporting material has been washed away by water infiltration
• Damaged or collapsed pipes — Drainage, water, and sewer ducts with leaks
• Weakened layers — Base and subbase with loss of compaction
• High water tables — Presence of groundwater that can destabilize the structure
• Pavement thickness variations — Areas where layers are thinner than expected

All of these conditions are sinkhole precursors. Detecting them early allows intervention with minor repairs (grout injection, compaction, pipe repair) instead of dealing with a catastrophic collapse.

Who Is This Service For?

How to Start a Monitoring Program

To prepare a customized proposal, we need:

1. Type of government or agency (municipality, state, concessionaire, water utility).
2. Approximate kilometers of streets or roads to monitor.
3. Main challenge (recurring sinkholes, aging infrastructure, karst zone, post-seismic assessment, etc.).
4. Budget availability for this type of program.
5. Location (country, state, city).