Sinkhole keeps 5th Street closed in Midtown

A sinkhole closed a portion of 5th Street in Midtown. (Credit: Facebook/Atlanta Police Department)

A sinkhole closed a portion of 5th Street in Midtown. (Credit: Facebook/Atlanta Police Department)

Metro Atlanta’s latest traffic disruption stretched into a second day Thursday as a part of 5th Street remained closed due to a sinkhole.

It’s not known how long the portion of the street near Cypress and West Peachtree streets will be off-limits to traffic, a City of Atlanta official said Thursday morning.

“The Department of Watershed Management went to the site yesterday and from their initial tests, they determined that the sinkhole was not caused by water or sewer issues,” spokeswoman Rukiya Campbell said in an email to The Atlanta-Journal Constitution.

“Our crew is currently there conducting additional tests to help determine the cause of the sinkhole.”

Campbell said she has no details on when the sinkhole will be repaired as long as crews are still trying to determine the cause.

The street was shut down shortly after sinkhole opened about noon Wednesday.

It’s the latest of several traffic disruptions that have plagued the area in recent weeks.

There was the I-85 bridge fire and collapse March 30, which left a stretch of the freeway impassable.

On Monday, a tractor-trailer filled with chemicals overturned before dawn on the Downtown Connector. Police said the truck shouldn’t have been on the highway in the first place.

Then before noon Monday, a portion of I-20 in DeKalb County buckled, blocking westbound traffic. The freeway reopened Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Twitter users expressed their sentiments about the sinkhole and the overall traffic situation.

Some have taken to social media to compare Atlanta streets to the Falcons’ Super Bowl collapse.

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