Local

Downed utility poles, lines block portion of major South End road

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Police say a portion of a major road in South End is closed because of downed utility poles and lines in the roadway.

South Tryon Street is closed between Bland Street and Carson Boulevard, near the Midnight Diner.

Authorities have not said what caused the lines to come down or what time it happened.

Channel 9 spoke with a witness who said she watched it unfold in front of her eyes.

I was coming out of the parking lot right here and once I got to the light, I heard two bangs, loud bangs," said Shai Jetter. "I looked up and I as I was about to cross the intersection, the pole here came down -- it just crashed down. There was a guy coming up the other way and literally he had to slam on his brakes, otherwise, he would have been underneath it."

Police have set up a new pattern in the area to help with traffic flow. If you're driving on Carson Boulevard heading toward South Tryon from Church Street, you can only go through the intersection. You can't turn.

From South Boulevard, you can go straight on Carson or turn right on South Tryon to uptown.

Duke Energy has not reported any outages in the area, but there are malfunctioning traffic lights at the intersection, and crews are at the scene working to fix the lines.

AT&T said the downed poles and lines are their utility lines.

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There is not an estimated time for when the road will reopen, but crews told Channel 9's Gina Esposito it could be several hours.

No other information has been released.

This is an ongoing investigation. Check back with wsoctv.com for more information.