East Independence Boulevard reopens after water main repair

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — UPDATE: All lanes are open on East Independence Boulevard outbound following a water main repair.

Drivers in east Charlotte dealt with a traffic headache in southeast Charlotte early Monday morning, as crews had to shut down parts of Independence Boulevard because of a major water main break.

[ IMAGES: Broken water main creates sinkhole on Independence Blvd. ]

By early Monday night, one lane was reopened.

The break happened around 1 a.m. in the outbound lanes between Wallace Road and East WT Harris Boulevard.

All three outbound lanes in the construction zone on Independence Boulevard were closed as crews worked to repair the water main.

Department of Transportation officials said the remaining lanes will not reopen until at least 2 p.m. on Tuesday.

Charlotte Water officials on the scene told Channel 9 that they do not know what caused the break, but said about 100 feet of road was damaged.

From Chopper 9, a large sinkhole could be seen opening up in the pavement.

The 8-foot hole is in the right outbound lane of Independence Blvd, and other stretches of the road between Wallace Road and East WT Harris Blvd. are buckling or cracked.

Traffic was already going to be heavy Monday morning as students headed to class for the first day of school, and the busted water main and road closure only added to the headache for drivers.

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"Because of the huge numbers of people not being able to get here because of traffic being chaotic and crazy, we sent out a general message that students could be late,” said Charlotte United Christian Academy Director Hank Corcoran. “That was certainly acceptable because of the crazy traffic."

Water was restored to customers early Monday night.

Vehicles were being detoured from Wallace Road to Monroe Road.

Check back with wsoctv.com for updates on this developing story.

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