By Joanie Morris
For the Salisbury Post
KANNAPOLIS — Both directions of Rainbow Drive were closed Thursday as crews from the N.C. Department of Transportation worked to repair a sinkhole caused by a 36-inch corroded metal pipe. The sinkhole is directly in front of Carolina Car Care and Used Car Sales.
The road was closed at the intersection of Pleasant Avenue near N.C. 3. Rainbow Drive connects N.C. 3 with Bethpage Road in southeastern Kannapolis. The road is expected to reopen at approximately 3:30 p.m. today.
The Estradas have lived on the corner of Pleasant Avenue at Rainbow Drive for 10 years, so the sinkhole hasn’t really caused big problems for the family because they know the area.
“There’s like 100 different ways to get to our house,” said Jennifer Estrada, 19. “It does suck for everybody else because this is a big road.”
A high-traffic area, there are no signs indicating the road is closed in either direction. The only indication something is wrong are orange “Road Work Ahead” signs about a half mile from the sinkhole. In 10 minutes, there were approximately 25 cars on the N.C. 3 side of the sinkhole.
On the side closer to Bethpage Road, cars were seen turning around in drives along the street and the parking area of a trailer park.
“Obviously, people don’t know which way to go,” said Estrada. A look inside the cars of several drivers showed befuddled expressions and confusion.
“They should put a road closed sign up there,” added her sister, Karen Estrada, pointing to the area on the other side of the sinkhole where drivers continued to turn around in the trailer park. “If it was me and I didn’t know this place, I’d get really mad.”
Rainbow Drive connects N.C. 3 to Bethpage Road, which comes out at South Main Street near What-A-Burger.
To detour, from Bethpage Road, go straight instead of turning on Rainbow Drive. Bethpage connects directly to N.C. 3 further down. From N.C. 3, pass the Rainbow Drive intersection and turn left on Bethpage Road.
Joanie Morris is a freelance reporter for the Salisbury Post. She can be reached at 704-797-4248 or news@salisburypost.com.