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© KEVIN BARLOW, The PantagraphOfficials from the city of Bloomington discuss options after another sinkhole was reported Tuesday on Locust Street — the second in the city in two days. A wrecker was able to free the truck, but Locust Street will remain closed for several days while repair work continues.
Spring isn't even officially here yet and already Bloomington City Engineer Kevin Kothe is tired of dealing with sinkholes.

For the second time in as many days, the Bloomington Public Works Department was called Tuesday to the scene of a vehicle stuck in a sinkhole. As a result, Locust Street will be closed to through traffic for water and sewer repair for several days, he said.

"Because of the safety issues with that street, we had to close it as well," he said.

That comes a day after a sinkhole on Monday forced the closure of the 900 block of North Lee Street. A car wheel sunk through the pavement, unveiling an underground hole several feet deep that remained under repair Tuesday.

The latest problem surfaced when a Union Pacific heavy machinery truck was eastbound on Locust about 11:15 a.m. The driver's side rear dual wheels got stuck in a sinkhole near the intersection of Locust and Western Avenue.

"We had a previous report of a hole starting on the other side of the street, so we had crews working over there," Kothe said. "That is when it happened."

A heavy-duty tow truck was called in to pull the truck away from the sinkhole.

While the repair work is going on, through traffic traveling on U.S. 150 or Illinois 9 will be detoured south on Western Avenue to Market Street.