A sudden sinkhole opened Thursday on Covington Pike near Chiswood Street, grinding traffic to a halt in the Raleigh corridor and forcing police to shut down the busy intersection. Memphis Light, Gas, and Water crews rushed to the scene after a water main reportedly failed near Elmore, sending water across the roadway and eating away at the pavement underneath. Officials urged drivers to steer clear of the area while crews worked to secure the site and start repairs.
What Officials Are Saying
According to Action News 5, Memphis Police issued a city-wide alert announcing that traffic would be blocked at the Covington Pike and Chiswood Street intersection after the flooding sinkhole and a traffic accident in the same area. The station reports that MLGW told reporters a water main broke at Covington Pike near Elmore, which appears to have triggered the roadway collapse. Authorities advised motorists to use alternate routes while crews assess the damage and work toward a repair plan.
MLGW Response And Resources
MLGW crews were on site as the situation unfolded, and the utility pointed customers to its online tools for updates. Per MLGW, customers can check the outage map and call the outage number for information about service issues. Residents near the sinkhole were urged to keep an eye on official utility and police updates as repair work continues.
Past Incidents And Infrastructure Context
Similar water-main failures have opened road-swallowing sinkholes in Memphis before. Coverage of a 2024 break in Parkway Village that shut Wooddale Avenue and cut service to dozens of customers underscored how fast an underground problem can turn into a full-blown public-safety and traffic headache. Officials say repairs tied to aging infrastructure often require lane closures and extended work windows to fully restore service and stabilize the pavement.
How To Get Around It
Drivers are being told to avoid Covington Pike at Chiswood Street and instead use Stage Road or Raleigh-LaGrange Road until the intersection reopens. Commuters should keep checking Memphis Police traffic alerts and MLGW updates for word on when the area is cleared and for any service advisories. This story will be updated as officials release more information.
