Created: 5/27/2009 7:07:59 AM 
Wilkesboro, NC -- Overnight rains added to problems for residents of Wilkes County. Already swollen creeks were again pushed to their limits with the rain. The rains washed away a portion of US 421 along with an exit ramp to Wilkes Community College. DOT Engineer Brian Hamby tells WFMY News 2 that the sinkhole caved in the right lane of south bound travel and exit lane around 2am this morning. They had already noticed a crack in the road and a 6" in drop on Tuesday. Hamby says that crews had reduced to the outer lane as a precaution about 6pm. He says no cars were in the lane when the road actually collapsed. Damages are estimated at half a million dollars and will take an estimated five weeks to repair. Hamby says that traffic on US 421 during the summer tourist season will be impacted. The washout was caused by flooding from nearby Moravian Creek. NC DOT has set up a detour for traffic around the sinkhole site. See map below On Tuesday, rescue teams evacuated more than a dozen residents of the Germantown Road area in Wilkes County on Tuesday as a creek flooded near their homes. The forecast calls for rain through Friday. The mountains are expected to dry out on Saturday and reach 80 degrees.
