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A sinkhole that trapped two vehicles near Aksarben also included a water main break, Omaha officials said.Traffic has been rerouted from the intersection of 67th and Pacific streets since the road collapsed around 3:30 p.m. Tuesday afternoon.When officers arrived, the drivers were out of their vehicles, authorities said. No one was injured.’All he could see was the blue sky’: Driver describes moments his vehicle was trapped in sinkholeOmaha police said Pacific Street is closed from 67th to 63rd Streets.Austin Rowser, city engineer with Omaha Public Works, said during a press conference Wednesday that the void under the sinkhole is 30 by 50 feet wide and 10 to 15 feet deep.Rowser said city personnel placed dye in the water and the duct bank was impacted in the collapse and damaged. He said it is evident that a pressurized water source has been impacting the area for some time.Video captures moment when road ‘collapses’ leaving two vehicles stuckThe Metropolitan Utilities District said in a statement that “it is too early to attribute the cause to any single source” without full analysis.”It is important to distinguish between observation and causation. While a water main was observed flowing after the collapse occurred, that fact alone does not establish that it created the subsurface void. Utility infrastructure can be damaged as a result of structural failure when pavement and underlying soils give way,” MUD said in a statement. “Based on our review to date, we have no record of a prior leak on this main, no reports of pressure loss, and no operational data indicating a failure before the collapse.”However, Omaha Public Works said “all indications are the water main break caused the collapse. A water main break is the only thing that can cause the scale of a void that led to the pavement collapse.”Omaha officials share latest on cause of sinkhole, timeline for repairs for Pacific StreetRowser said MUD has two water mains and one was intact and the other had water flowing from it. He was not aware of any gas line problems.MUD said in a statement that initial on-scene reports indicated the excavation area was largely dry. “If a pressurized water main had been scouring soil for an extended period, we would typically expect evidence of sustained soil saturation or surface manifestation. … Determining the origin and duration of any erosion requires geotechnical evaluation, system data review, and a comprehensive assessment of all infrastructure in the vicinity,” MUD said in a statement.Omaha Public Works said MUD will need to make repairs before the road can be fixed.”Typically, this is a few days or a few weeks, depending on how much needs to be repaired. They’ll backfill and turn it over to us for paving. We can usually expect 5 to 7 days at that point,” Rowser told KETV.Rowser said sinkholes are a fairly common occurrence, usually an erosion of some sort. He does not believe that snow melt played a role.Make sure you can always see the latest news, weather, sports and more from KETV NewsWatch 7 on Google search.NAVIGATE: Home | Weather | Local News | National | Sports | Newscasts on demand |
A sinkhole that trapped two vehicles near Aksarben also included a water main break, Omaha officials said.
Traffic has been rerouted from the intersection of 67th and Pacific streets since the road collapsed around 3:30 p.m. Tuesday afternoon.
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When officers arrived, the drivers were out of their vehicles, authorities said. No one was injured.
‘All he could see was the blue sky’: Driver describes moments his vehicle was trapped in sinkhole
Omaha police said Pacific Street is closed from 67th to 63rd Streets.
Austin Rowser, city engineer with Omaha Public Works, said during a press conference Wednesday that the void under the sinkhole is 30 by 50 feet wide and 10 to 15 feet deep.
Rowser said city personnel placed dye in the water and the duct bank was impacted in the collapse and damaged.
He said it is evident that a pressurized water source has been impacting the area for some time.
Video captures moment when road ‘collapses’ leaving two vehicles stuck
The Metropolitan Utilities District said in a statement that “it is too early to attribute the cause to any single source” without full analysis.
“It is important to distinguish between observation and causation. While a water main was observed flowing after the collapse occurred, that fact alone does not establish that it created the subsurface void. Utility infrastructure can be damaged as a result of structural failure when pavement and underlying soils give way,” MUD said in a statement. “Based on our review to date, we have no record of a prior leak on this main, no reports of pressure loss, and no operational data indicating a failure before the collapse.”
However, Omaha Public Works said “all indications are the water main break caused the collapse. A water main break is the only thing that can cause the scale of a void that led to the pavement collapse.”
Omaha officials share latest on cause of sinkhole, timeline for repairs for Pacific Street
Rowser said MUD has two water mains and one was intact and the other had water flowing from it. He was not aware of any gas line problems.
MUD said in a statement that initial on-scene reports indicated the excavation area was largely dry.
“If a pressurized water main had been scouring soil for an extended period, we would typically expect evidence of sustained soil saturation or surface manifestation. … Determining the origin and duration of any erosion requires geotechnical evaluation, system data review, and a comprehensive assessment of all infrastructure in the vicinity,” MUD said in a statement.
Omaha Public Works said MUD will need to make repairs before the road can be fixed.
“Typically, this is a few days or a few weeks, depending on how much needs to be repaired. They’ll backfill and turn it over to us for paving. We can usually expect 5 to 7 days at that point,” Rowser told KETV.
Rowser said sinkholes are a fairly common occurrence, usually an erosion of some sort. He does not believe that snow melt played a role.
Make sure you can always see the latest news, weather, sports and more from KETV NewsWatch 7 on Google search.
NAVIGATE: Home | Weather | Local News | National | Sports | Newscasts on demand |
