OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — The big question on 16th Street remains: When will this sinkhole be gone? While we don't know a specific date yet, reporter Molly Hudson learned that part of the repair process is ahead of schedule.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
OPPD started its work on the sinkhole on September 8.
"We were able to get all of our new facilities installed, we were able to cut all the high voltage lines out of the sinkhole, so we really stabilized the area, eliminated the risk of outage to the system," said Todd McLochlin, manager of utility coordination with OPPD.
I have learned that the work anticipated to take several weeks is now well ahead of schedule.
"We had some really favorable weather that worked with us, didn't run into a lot of obstructions as we were making the crossing through 17th and down the alley. We did make a conscious decision to bring in some additional resources to speed up the repair," McLochlin said.
It's welcome news for neighbors who have been living with this sinkhole since it opened in January.
"It's great, it's great, I think they know what they are doing, and they haven't really caused as much of an inconvenience as we thought they would probably have to do," said Tom Lamme, a Regis resident.
Richard Avila, co-owner of Exclusive Kicks, is ready to see the road reopened.
"Every day I gotta find a new way to get to work. It's like every week I've got to find a new route, and if I gotta find a new route that means all my customers gotta find a new route," Avila said.
Sources also confirmed that OPPD will meet with the city Thursday to discuss scheduling.
OPPD says the city could get started on its part in the next two to three weeks.
"The electrical risk is gone, but the physical risk or physical obstruction is still there, so that is what we are cleaning up at this point," McLochlin said
And OPPD will have some work to do after the city is done.
The city has to repair the sewer.
And in our last report, the city and the Regis Building were still working to find a path forward for the building repairs. It's unclear where that stands.
