Businesses weigh in on traffic impact from sinkhole in downtown Talladega

TALLADEGA, Ala. (WBRC) - City leaders in Talladega are still working to determine what caused a giant sinkhole on East Street Square.

Talladega Fire says they were returning from a call when the road began to cave in. Thankfully, they drove out of it and called for backup, but the road remained closed.

Workers have added barricades to the area, and they spent most of the day Monday filling the hole with dirt.

Nearby business owners say other than the traffic detours, not much has changed for them.

“We had a packed house,” says LaToya Wilson, owner of Sherry’s. “All of our customers were in here, and someone happened to find out what was going on. That’s how we found out, but it didn’t interrupt anything. We had no clue what was going on.”

April Clark, the owner of Miss April’s Workshop, says it seems to be an isolated incident. The only change she’s noticed is some customers aren’t able to park along East Street Square.

“The parking downtown is pretty good. So they can potentially park and walk, and everything is blocked off and every safe,” says Clark.

Wilson adds that residents familiar with Talladega have still been able to get to where they need to go.

“They know the alternate side of the street to park on. So they just park on the sides of the street and walked over,” says Wilson.

Both ladies are pleased with how the city has communicated with businesses.

“The great thing about it is the city has been really open with information,” says Clark. “When they share information with us, we just share it with our customers and clients. Then they are open to taking our calls. I can just call up to city hall and say is everything OK? And they’re giving as much information as we need.”

WBRC did get an update from the city which says there was a utility issue at the bottom of the sinkhole, but it has been resolved. Repairs will begin tomorrow, and they expect them to be completed by Wednesday.

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