UPDATE: The intersection of Queen Street and Park Avenue in Chatham re-opened Thursday evening.
A crash at a busy intersection in Chatham is causing some traffic tie-ups in the city and internet and cable outages in several communities across the municipality.
Chatham-Kent police are still asking drivers to avoid the intersection of Queen Street and Park Avenue in Chatham after a collision there early Thursday morning knocked out a traffic light and severed some power lines.
CK police are strongly urging the public to avoid the stretch of Park Avenue from McGuigan Avenue to Maple Leaf Drive.
Cogeco Ontario also posted a note to its Facebook page Thursday morning saying that the crash is affecting its services in Chatham, Ridgetown, and Blenheim.
Cogeco has local technicians on site but as of 9 a.m. Thursday, the company did not have any estimated restoration time for its service, adding that it "could take a long time to repair due to the extent of the damages."
The cable and internet outages are also affecting several municipal services in the area.
An advisory from the Municipality of Chatham-Kent at around 9 a.m. Thursday said the internet was knocked out for the Civic Centre in Chatham along with all municipal buildings throughout south Chatham, Blenheim, and Ridgetown.
As a result, most municipal services will be unavailable at those locations until the internet service is restored.
There is no word yet on whether charges will be laid in connection with the crash.
