ST. LOUIS, Missouri (First Alert 4) – There is a huge hole in the street at the corner of Blair and Penrose in the Hyde Park neighborhood in north St. Louis City.

In May of this year, a water pipe burst and the streets of the district were under water for hours or even days.

Gloria Winston has lived in the Hyde Park neighborhood for more than 30 years.

“We had no idea it would be months before they did anything when the pipe burst,” Winston said.

More than three months later, the huge hole is still on their doorstep.

“The hole is getting bigger,” Winston said. “We don’t go out here at all because it’s dangerous. I don’t want my grandchildren or great-grandchildren out here.”

Councilman Rasheen Aldridge represents Hyde Park and said he had been asked about closing the gap.

“The north side has always been neglected,” said Alderman Aldridge. “The north side has always not received the same level of development and attention when it comes to basic city services. I understand their frustration and I don’t object to it. If this was the Central West End or a main street, it would have been taken care of sooner.”

First Alert 4 has reached out to the city, which said it is awaiting repairs from the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District (MSD). First Alert 4 has reached out to MSD, which said the water main break caused damage to the sewer line underneath.

“We see the rats running down the street,” said Winston. “If they run down the street when it’s warm, they’ll come in when it’s cold. I don’t want sewer rats in my house.”

Due to aging infrastructure, MSD has decided to relocate the sewer line under the sidewalk to prevent future problems. With this decision, plans for the diversion had to move to the design stage. First Alert 4 was told that work on this massive hole is expected to begin next week.

“If this happened in your neighborhood, would you tolerate it?” Winston said.

MSD told First Alert 4 that it does not have an exact estimate of how long the repairs will take. It should take less than 90 days to repair the road, but if it does, it could be up to six months since the problem first appeared.

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