It's all over Twitter, so I thought I'd post Mike Thiel's photo of the huge sink hole near the OnMilwaukee.com office at Oakland and North Avenues on Milwaukee's East Side.
See the complete photo here. Thiel's friend Shane Morrison shot the photo and was one of the individuals who helped the driver (who is safe).
Tweeting about the flood? Use #brewcityflood. Stay safe and dry, Milwaukee.
UPDATE Fri., July 23 11 a.m.
Updated information from Jim Plaisted, executive director of the East Side B.I.D.: "The driver is safe and sound. I've talked with one of the (City of Milwaukee) DPW engineers on site. He said that getting the hole secure and car out of the hole are first priorities. One WE Energies line already blew and the other was being shut off. Once the car stops running (yes, the engine is still running!), they will get a crane on site and remove."
"The disheartening news is that the repair of the intersection will take up to six weeks. Every utility had a major conduit in the intersection and all were crushed by the collapse. No prediction on when any traffic could go east/west through the intersection during reconstruction."
UPDATE: Fri., July 23 2:0 5 p.m.
News release from City of Milwaukee follows:
Various teams from the City of Milwaukee and outside utilities and agencies are mobilizing efforts to effectively respond to the collapse of the 66-inch diameter combined sewer located in the intersection of North Oakland Avenue and East North Avenue as a result of yesterday's excessive rain event.
Public safety is of paramount concern and the area has been adequately closed off to traffic and pedestrians to allow full assessment of the stability of the immediate area and the scope of the damages to public and private facilities. Impacted underground facilities include City sewer, City water, City communications, City traffic signal, City street lighting, We Energies electrical conduit and AT&T conduit as well as surface pavement, curbs and sidewalk.
The first response is to make the area safe to prevent further damage and to allow restoration activities to commence. Impacted City water mains have been shut off. We Energies are working to de-energize their conduit. Water service to residents has not been affected.
The City has engaged Edward Gillen & Co to build a containment shaft with sheet piling to stabilize the area. Gillen is securing the equipment and materials including two large cranes for this effort which are expect to arrive on-site this afternoon. This equipment will facilitate retrieval of the vehicle. Once commenced, this effort will continue on a 24-hour basis. The area will be cleaned of debris and material will be placed to stabilize the excavation before sheet piling installation can commence. This effort will continue over the weekend with sheet piling installation extending into next week.
The City has also engaged Rawson Contractors for the restoration of City underground facilities including the sewer and water mains. Underground restoration work will begin after the sheet piling shaft work is completed. Restoration of other City utilities and private utilities will be coordinated at that time.
This effort is expected to last six weeks to complete before the area can be completely restored and open to traffic. The intersection will be closed including streets within a block of the site. Pedestrians will be allowed in areas deemed safe.
A life-long and passionate community leader and Milwaukeean, Jeff Sherman is a co-founder of OnMilwaukee.
He grew up in Wauwatosa and graduated from Marquette University, as a Warrior. He holds an MBA from Cardinal Stritch University, and is the founding president of Young Professionals of Milwaukee (YPM)/Fuel Milwaukee.
Early in his career, Sherman was one of youngest members of the Greater Milwaukee Committee, and currently is involved in numerous civic and community groups - including board positions at The Wisconsin Center District, Wisconsin Club and Marcus Center for the Performing Arts. He's honored to have been named to The Business Journal's "30 under 30" and Milwaukee Magazine's "35 under 35" lists.
He owns a condo in Downtown and lives in greater Milwaukee with his wife Stephanie, his son, Jake, and daughter Pierce. He's a political, music, sports and news junkie and thinks, for what it's worth, that all new movies should be released in theaters, on demand, online and on DVD simultaneously.
He also thinks you should read OnMilwaukee each and every day.
