Yesterday afternoon a massive sinkhole formed on Independence Blvd., flooding the entire street and shutting down all outbound lanes during one of the busiest times of the day.
The water main break and subsequent sinkhole was formed under the right-hand outbound lane of Independence Blvd., near Village Lake Drive in SouthEast Charlotte;
Independence Drive (OUTBOUND) shutdown at Village Lake due to water main break. Water has been turned off. Cleaning process underway. Traffic is a nightmare. @wcnc pic.twitter.com/8gsEfkSoP6
— Rachel Lundberg (@RachelLLundberg) April 10, 2018
For most of yesterday evening, outbound lanes were completely shut down by Charlotte Water crews as they worked to fix the busted line;
7300 East Independence Boulevard – Outbound lanes are closed until further notice for water main break. Drivers detoured onto Village Lake Drive, turn onto Monroe Road, turn onto Sardis Road North and back onto Independence Blvd. #clttraffic
— Charlotte Water (@CLTWater) April 10, 2018
This is what the sinkhole looked like after crews dug around it;
NOW | Water main repair in outbound lanes of Independence Blvd. have extended the evening rush-hour BIG TIME!! Heavy outbound traffic on Monroe Rd. also as a result @SpecNewsCLT pic.twitter.com/NrTlk4IoGB
— Jonathan Lowe (@JonathanUpdates) April 10, 2018
Charlotte Water has now reported that all but 1 outbound lane will remain shut down until tonight as crews continue to work on the sinkhole;
Independence Blvd Update: 1 Outbound lane is open and other OB lanes are closed likely through Wednesday night as contractor mills & paves roughly 80×20 foot area. Crews continue to repair pipe tonight. #clttraffic
— Charlotte Water (@CLTWater) April 11, 2018