UPDATE: The Town of Chapel Hill issued an alert at 3:40 p.m. on Monday saying East Franklin Street had been repaired from the sinkhole and any resulting damage. The road has since been reopened to traffic.

A sinkhole in downtown Chapel Hill is causing parts of a critical road to be closed and some traffic to be detoured on Monday morning.

An alert from the Town of Chapel Hill at 10:09 a.m. warned road users traveling west on East Franklin Street about a sinkhole that developed on the road in front of Pickard Lane, which borders the northeast edge of UNC’s campus. The hole is not quite the size of a manhole, with several cracks in the asphalt spreading out from the opening. As a result, the two westbound lanes of East Franklin are closed between Hillsborough and Henderson as crews arrive to survey the damage.

Because of the closure, traffic in Chapel Hill was backed up more than normal along East Franklin Street, Hillsborough Street, Raleigh Street, and East Rosemary Street. The town government urged people traveling westbound along East Franklin Street to follow any posted detours.

Photo by Henry Taylor/Chapel Hill Media Group.

Photo by Henry Taylor/Chapel Hill Media Group.

This is a developing story and will be updated with more information as it becomes available.

Featured photo by Henry Taylor/Chapel Hill Media Group.

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