OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — A garbage truck fell into a sinkhole Thursday morning and got stuck for hours. That was the scene between Farnam and Harney St. just after 8 a.m. leaving behind a gaping hole at the entrance the alley on 16th Street.
- Quickly, after the truck was out, power was restored but water and gas remained off.
- As of about 3:30 Thursday afternoon, MUD estimates less than 200 gas and water accounts are affected.
- 16th Street will be closed until further notice as city crews work to repair the street.
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“I heard a really loud, kind of ‘thunk’, and my wife got up and we looked out the window and saw that the waste management truck was halfway in the street,” said Tom Dinaro, a resident in the area.
It's an area neighbors like Tom Dinaro have been concerned about for months.
"Four feet worth of mud in our basement, that was obviously from here, like we were told about this void, 6 months ago, and that's how they described it was a void, and as you can see it is a void,” Dinaro said.
Dinaro says he's brought those concerns to the city.
“We have brought up to the city to one of the Public Works people, we have tried to get help from the mayor to no avail, and we have tried with our city council person and who has not even responded to us,” Dinaro said.
Omaha Public Works told me it was an area they were monitoring, and the alley was blocked off earlier this week. It's unclear who removed the barriers to the alley before the truck attempted to drive through.
We watched as Omaha fire crews and a tow truck raised the truck out of the sinkhole shortly before noon.
But to do so, power, water, and gas were turned off in the area.
“They told me they are going to try to get those utilities back on as soon as possible, they just have to wait to see what kind of damage, potential damage there could be, if any, to the lines that are at the bottom of that sinkhole,” said Coby Werner, battalion chief, Omaha Fire Department
Quickly, after the truck was out, power was restored but water and gas remained off.
MUD says gas and water were shut off along 16th Street between Harney and just north of Douglas.
As of about 3:30 Thursday afternoon, MUD estimates less than 200 gas and water accounts are affected.
MUD is in contact with affected buildings and will provide service updates with an automated phone call when repairs are completed but an exact time of restoration was not available Thursday.
Omaha Public Works tells me this is not related to work that is being done for the future streetcar. 16th Street will be closed until further notice as city crews work to repair the street.
