ST. LOUIS – FOX 2 News has been digging for answers about the massive street collapse last month right next to Interstate 55 in south St. Louis.

It appears the issues are with City of St. Louis water mains and not Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District (MSD) lines, according to MSD.

The same section of Idaho has been crumbling repeatedly for more than a decade. Thankfully, no one’s gotten hurt. It may take a couple of months, not days or weeks, to fix things this time.

It’s been nearly three weeks since part of Idaho, which takes vehicles directly from the I-55/Loughborough off-ramp, caved in. The collapsed section is about 40 feet in diameter.

The process of replacing damaged water and sewer lines and rebuilding the street is progressing at last.

Close

Thanks for signing up!

Watch for us in your inbox.

Subscribe Now

Breaking News

“They’ve been working on it hard. You’ve got to give them credit for that,” said Paul Goodman, who’s been rehabbing a house on Idaho. “I would never drive over the road again. I’ll go around it. I won’t get off at Loughborough. I’ll go down to Virginia and get off and come back…they fixed it before and it (still) fell in.”

Records show more than a dozen reports from residents to the City of St. Louis for street or sidewalk cave-ins and pothole issues since 2011.

About three years ago, MSD, replaced the manhole in the center of the collapse zone. MSD crews inspected their lines with robotic cameras just after the collapse. They found no issues with sewer lines. The sewer mains are about 30 feet deep, far below the collapse.

“We’ve investigated all of our stuff. We haven’t found anything that could have caused this,” said MSD spokeswoman, MSD. “All of our stuff is in really good shape … as far as what caused this, we can’t say for certain, but a lot of things indicate there was an issue with water lines in this area.”

City of St. Louis water mains are about 6 feet deep, in the middle of the area where wash-out occurred that caused the collapse.

MSD mains are about 30 feet, McCoy said.

With all of the damage from falling pavement, the exact cause may never be clear. The cost of the emergency repair project won’t be known until the work is finished. MSD and the City of St. Louis are covering those costs, McCoy said.

If everything goes to plan, it will be six to eight weeks before repairs are finished, and you can drive on Idaho Avenue again.

Andy Banker

Andy Banker reports weeknights for FOX 2 News and co-anchors FOX 2 News on Saturday and Sunday Mornings. More from this author.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 2.