By Katie Knapp Schubert
Omaha, NE – The city of Bellevue has closed the main entrance from Highway 370 in to Haworth Park.
Bellevue Police closed the park Friday morning. City spokesman Phil Davidson says no pedestrians, bicycles, or vehicle traffic are allowed in to the park because of flooding. He says the decision protects both public safety and the levee.
Davidson says they won't know the extent of flood damage to Haworth Park until the Missouri River recedes. "We'll probably have to go through the whole thing we went through last year where we'll have to clean the whole thing out, make sure we sanitize everything, go through the electrical and all that stuff, so it's going to be a long process." He doesn't anticipate Haworth Park will open again until next year.
Last Monday, sandbagging was done along the BNSF rail line through Bellevue. Davidson says right now, no additional sandbagging efforts are planned. There are also no additional road closures planned in Bellevue due to flooding.
Bellevue's levee is 38 feet. The Missouri River is anticipated to crest sometime next week in the Omaha area at 34 to 36 feet.