- City officials: repairs for 16th Street sinkhole in Downtown Omaha expected to be complete by end of April
- City officials: Pacific Street could reopen on Thursday after sinkhole formed last week in Aksarben
- Some neighbors in Downtown say they're ready for the sinkhole to be filled
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — Omaha neighbors are getting the news they've been waiting for: two sinkholes that disrupted life in separate neighborhoods are nearing resolution, with the city confirming repair timelines for both locations.
The 16th Street sinkhole — which sparked protests, neighborhood parties and a lawsuit between The Regis Building owners and the city — is expected to be filled before the end of April, according to the mayor's office.
For Tom Lamme, a neighbor on 16th Street, the announcement brought a sense of relief that has been a long time coming since last January.
"It's a great relief," Lamme said.
Lamme said the months of disruption have tested his patience, but the confirmed timeline makes it easier to endure.
"I've lived in large cities before. I know noise. I'm used to it. I can put up with this knowing for sure that it's all going to be done eventually. And now more than eventually soon," Lamme said.
In the Aksarben neighborhood, a sinkhole on Pacific Street is on a much faster timeline. Workers were filling the hole and preparing it for road crews to rebuild the street on top. Austin Rowser, Omaha's assistant public works director and city engineer, said the Pacific Street sinkhole could reopen to traffic by Thursday.
"We have to give a couple of days for cure time before we can open that up to traffic. And so later this week, we expect to have that open to all lanes of traffic," Rowser said.
Rowser said there were no warning signs before the Pacific Street sinkhole opened last Tuesday.
When asked how the city can ensure Omaha streets are safe, Rowser pointed to the unusual nature of the situation.
"We have a fairly unique set of circumstances here, which really precluded the lack of any kind of warnings ahead of time," Rowser said.
The city said the total cost of repairs has not yet been determined, as work on Pacific Street is still ongoing.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
