City crews continue work on Raleigh sinkhole
RALEIGH, North Carolina (WTVD) -- Raleigh crews continue to work on a massive sinkhole on West Millbrook Road.
RELATED: MILLBROOK ROAD REPAIR TO TAKE 4 DAYS, CITY OF RALEIGH SAYS
Crews have shut down both lanes of traffic to repair the 8 to 10 foot wide, 10-foot deep sinkhole.
As a safety precaution, city officials say neighbors will have to put up with barricades, detours, and minor delays for a few more days.
On Wednesday, Chopper 11 HD showed the magnitude of the hole.
Crews expect the road will be patched up and open on June 7.
City officials say sewer gas likely corroded a 44-year-old concrete pipe below, adding that recent heavy rains and flooding in the area didn't help the situation.
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Neighbors question why wasn't the pipe replaced years ago.
"If they would take care of this beforehand then it wouldn't get to this point of getting a sinkhole," Steven Iannone said.
The City's Environmental Coordinator, Ed Buchan, says crews were scheduled to check the sewer line on Friday but then the sinkhole happened days earlier.
Buchan says Raleigh has about 2,500 miles of sewer line, which could stretch from Raleigh to Las Vegas.
Buchan says crews try to check the lines as often as possible.
The city has $1.5 billion invested in its Capital Improvement Plan to help focus on water and sewer infrastructure.
