Local

Water restored as crews continue working on massive sinkhole on Peachtree Street in Buckhead

ATLANTA — Water has been restored to residents and most businesses after a massive sinkhole opened up in Buckhead.

The hole opened up near where Peachtree Road becomes Peachtree Street and swallowed the Sufi’s Kitchen restaurant sign several days ago.

Crews say they are making headway on fixing the hole, but still have to install a new storm drain to replace the one damaged by the sinkhole.

The hole overtakes the sidewalk and part of Peachtree Street, turning one of the busiest streets in the city into a log jam for drivers.

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“It’s just a hassle having to go through the barricades and stuff,” driver Theodore Collier told Channel 2′s Tom Regan.

Collier did his best to navigate around the work zone to get to a doctor’s appointment. When he got there, he saw a sign saying the water was out at the building.

Nearby restaurants say the sinkhole has also been a nightmare for them. Three were forced to close, including Sufi’s Kitchen, which sits right in front of the hole.

While water has since been restored, Christy Buice, Sufi’s Kitchen restaurant manager, says it was a major issue for them.

“We do have power. They did cut off the power last night, so we are trying to clean up and do all of the food that got spoiled with the water going down,” Buice says.

She says they first noticed the ground giving way on Friday.

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Buice told Regan that she called the city weeks ago after hearing water gushing underground from the broken water pipe.

“After calling three times in one day, some lady came out and opened up the manhole and said, ‘I can’t turn off the water.’ She said she would send another crew out that day. Never did, and it just keep going and going,” she said.

People trying to get to work or run errands say the delays are maddening.

“Peachtree is always a challenge anyway. This makes it a lot worse,” driver Heather Shankwiler said.

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