Busy Gwinnett intersection reopens after water main break, road collapse

GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — UPDATE: Norcross police tells Channel 2 Action News that the intersection of Indian Trail Road at Beaver Ruin Road is back open Wednesday morning after a water main break caused a sinkhole.

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A busy area of Gwinnett County is closed for repairs to a water main break and sinkhole and will most likely remain that way for the rest of Tuesday night. Police said heavy rain is keeping crews from finishing the work.

Indian Trail Road at Beaver Ruin Road is currently shut down as crews work to make repairs.

Crews are working to repair what they believe is a 38-inch water main break and a sinkhole they said is the size of a dump truck.

Channel 2's Darryn Moore was live at the scene Tuesday morning, where authorities told him part of the ground had collapsed, opening up the hole.

Police blocked off several streets and the water department brought in heavy equipment to repair the water main.

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A police officer told Moore that the pressure from the broken pipe was so powerful that water shot several feet in the air and took out a traffic light pole, which could take hours to fix, depending on weather.

"In order to do that, they have to dig the old base out. They are going to completely remove all the water from the sinkhole and the temperature has to be a certain degrees. What I understand, it has to be at 50 degrees. Unfortunately, it’s now down to 39," said Sgt. Eric Butynski, of the Norcross Police Department.

The pressure from the broken pipe caused three businesses nearby to shut off the water and several county bus routes to stop running.

Local law enforcement officers said they are concerned about the traffic in the area.

"They’re going to have to find another way to go. So what we would ask everyone to do is if you’re coming southbound on I-85, get off as far north as you possibly can. Pleasant Hill would be good. If you can’t, DOT has already changed signs on the interstate, so we should be able to get people off at Pleasant Hill or Beaver Ruin Road. It’s fully open all the way into the city of Norcross,” said Norcross Police Chief Bill Grogran.

Workers said they'll try to finish things up by Wednesday morning, depending on the weather.

"If it’s at all possible to stay away from the area, because the traffic is so heavy right now. If you have to come through here, relax and take your time. Try not to get in any road rage with other drivers. They’re going to be in the same boat as you. They just want to get home," Butynski said.

Cox Media Group