Garbage Truck Takes Down Poles, Lines, Causes Loss of Service

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Published on July 25 2016 2:27 pm
Last Updated on July 26 2016 6:44 am
Written by Greg Sapp

(WHAT WAS LEFT OF THE POWER POLE THAT BROKE IN TWO PLACES AT KELLER DRIVE AND MARVON DRIVE)

A Doty Sanitation garbage truck took down electrical and communication lines along and crossing Keller Drive Monday afternoon, leaving hundreds without power and closing the busy north-south roadway. Service was completely restored just after 8:30pm.

Keller Drive was re-opened about 3:10pm, using the eastbound lanes and the center turn lane to re-establish north-south travel. The move left the southbound lanes closed so repair crews could do their work safely. The last roadway to be re-opened was Marvon Drive, the intersection just south of where the power lines were knocked down.

The garbage truck was in a driveway between two homes along the west side of Keller, just north of Marvon Drive when it struck the lines. The driver remained inside the truck until Ameren crews made sure it was safe to leave the vehicle.

Initially, the outage knocked out traffic lights from Temple Avenue all the way north to Outer Belt West. Service was later restored from Outer Belt West to the Evergreen intersection on the north side of the interstate. Crews later used generators to restore flashing light status to Evergreen on the south side of the interstate and full operation at Temple Avenue until power was restored.

(EMPLOYEES AT AUDIBEL WENT HOME FOR THE DAY WITH KELLER DRIVE CLOSED AND NO ELECTRICAL SERVICE)

Several businesses along Keller Drive closed for the day once the staff learned power would not be restored for some time.

No one was injured in the incident.