KINSTON, N.C. (WITN) – The recent rainfalls have caused serious damage to some roads around Eastern Carolina, but one Kinston street has a long road to recovery.

The Kinston police department says a large sinkhole formed on Dunn Family Road Saturday night. The North Carolina Department of Transportation says the heavy rains from the past week caused the crossline pipe under Dunn Family Road to fail, creating the sinkhole.

Allen and Rhonda Peyton live down the street from the sinkhole but only saw the flooded road when they walked by Saturday night. They told WITN over the weekend that they were surprised to see the sinkhole in the morning.

“We didn’t really know what to think because I didn’t see that coming”, Allen said. “The water had come up quick across the road when we came back.”

Dunn Family Road is a state-maintained road. Kinston Public Services and NCDOT were on the scene Sunday to assess the damage. The NCDOT says bridge maintenance forces will be replacing the crossline and repairing the roadway.

“It almost looked like debris on the road until you got closer, and then it’s like a shock,” Rhonda said. “I don’t know what time they blocked the road off, but if a car had gone through there at night and couldn’t see it, it would have been really catastrophic.”

Today, NCDOT crews are getting equipment and materials to the road site, but are also waiting on the locations of several utilities. The Department of Transportation says they anticipate the road to be closed for two weeks for pipe replacement, roadway repair, and asphalt patching.

Kinston officials say they will continue to monitor the river levels and the roads that may be impacted. According to the National Weather Service, the Neuse River is forecast to crest at a moderate flood level in Kinston on Thursday.