Drivers deal with detour delays after sinkhole split Cobb County road in half

Construction is slated to start Tuesday on a sinkhole that opened up in Cobb County earlier this week.

Construction crews believe the road may take longer to fix than they thought. Contractors are waiting for the material they will use to repair the road to arrive Monday.

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Cobb County Communications Director Ross Cavitt said a large metal pipe that carried a stream under the road failed during heavy rain Monday night.

The sinkhole split Spring Hill Parkway in half near Cumberland Boulevard. Cavitt said Thursday, contractors came out as rain continued to fall throughout the week to study water flow under the road.

The county announced the plan it will use to replace the aging system that failed.

“They’re going to do a three pipe system under that road instead of one big pipe,” said Cavitt.

Cavitt said sinkholes are a growing problem in the metro.

CEO of SCA Construction Reese Alley said, “We’re seeing it more and more every day.”

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He said the corrugated, or ridged, metal pipes used decades ago are a thing of the past.

”We absolutely have better solutions. There’s been a lot of new innovation in that area in terms of the pipe and structures that we can install in those different areas,” said Alley.

Cobb County said construction on the sinkhole at Spring Hill Parkway could take three to four weeks.

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