Burst water pipe causes sinkhole, disrupting traffic and water supply in Nuriootpa main street

A large sinkhole has opened on a busy street in the Barossa Valley, after a water pipe burst. See the pictures.

A sinkhole “about the size of a small vehicle” opened on the main street of a Barossa Valley town in the early hours of Saturday morning, with work to repair it ongoing.

The sinkhole at the corner of Murray and Gawler streets, in Nuriootpa, was caused by a burst water pipe – disrupting local traffic and affecting water supply to 12 properties in the area.

A sinkhole on Main Street in Nuriootpa. Picture Supplied

A sinkhole on Main Street in Nuriootpa. Picture Supplied

Vine Inn general manager Gabrielle Marschall watched the damage unfold just metres away from the business.

Ms Marschall said the burst water pipe burst caused the sinkhole “about the size of a small vehicle” about 5am.

“The pipe fully burst but I think it had been leaking before then,” she said.

“I believe the police were already in attendance before the full burst because there had been water pooling on the road before that.

“It’s been more than six hours at this point and they (SA Water) are still working on it, trying to repair the water.”

Ms Marshall said the business remained open but water supply had been disconnected to parts of the hotel.

“A part of the inn has been without water since 6.30am at least but thankfully we still have hot water in the accommodation block out the back,” she said.

“And obviously it’s an impact on our business because we’re right in front of the sinkhole and it has made customer access difficult – you can only come in from the back.”

An SA Water spokesman apologised for any the disruption and said work to fix the issue should be completed by the end of Saturday.

“At this stage we estimate pipe repairs to be completed this afternoon, ahead of the road reopening,” the spokesman said.

“Final bitumen reinstatement and other site works will be completed on Monday morning.

“We apologise for any inconvenience, and assure people we’re working as quickly and safely as possible to complete repairs.”

Originally published as Burst water pipe causes sinkhole, disrupting traffic and water supply in Nuriootpa main street