Downtown street closed by sinkhole to re-open Wednesday

By Alexis Stevens

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

A major downtown street split open by a busted pipe is expected to be open by 9 a.m. Wednesday, city officials said.

Enlarge photo

John Spink, jspink@ajc.com Atlanta Police officer C.W. Brown (left) talks with the water department's Ronald Fambro near the giant sinkhole.

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The hole, which measured about 20 feet by 8 feet and was about 10 to 15 feet deep, swallowed a couple of lanes of Centennial Olympic Park Drive at West Peachtree Place, near the Georgia Aquarium, early Tuesday.

Rob Hunter, commissioner of the city's Department of Watershed Management, said the sinkhole was caused by a broken or leaking 6-inch main that was installed in 1928.

"When pipes get to be a hundred years old, they tend to leak," Hunter said. "A constant, perpetual maintenance program is the only way to stay on top of them."

By Tuesday afternoon, the main had been repaired so repaving could begin, Janet Ward, watershed management spokeswoman said.

-- Staff writers Mike Morris and John Spink contributed to this report.