Road collapse slows down traffic on Market, Kerr

Driving down Market Street Friday had some people confused; others were agitated – all thanks to a sewer collapse on Kerr Avenue Thursday.

“I talked to one of the guys over there and it’s a pretty deep hole. I am sure glad I didn’t go over it,” said taxi driver Ronnie Hawes.

Friday morning drivers were still trying to get around a giant hole in the middle of Kerr Avenue.

“It’s kind of putting me out of the way, because normally I go down Kerr Avenue, but I had to take an alternate route. I was going to City Trends to go shopping, so it’s really an inconvenience for me,” said Rodney Freeman.

The street collapsed around 2:00 p.m. Thursday afternoon, closing the road between Market Street and Cinema Drive; leaving drivers to find an alternate route.

Construction crews said old, leaky pipes caused the road to collapse, leaving a 15 foot hole in the middle of Kerr Avenue. Despite all the road cones and closure signs, some drivers did not get the message right away.

“As I was coming up onto it along Market there was some congestion and traffic and people switching lanes and not sure what was going on ahead. So it seemed to be making things a little bit more dangerous,” said frustrated driver Victor Gerhard.

Most road warriors said the closure was just an inconvenience. “It hasn’t affected us a whole lot. We can still go and come. Of course, some of our exits are blocked off as you can see. But we can still get out here and over there and behind us, so it hasn’t affected us too much,” Hawes said.

Thanks to construction crews working around the clock, CFPUA opened the road just before 4:00 p.m.

Most of the drivers said they were impressed with how quickly the crews were working.