INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — Indianapolis Fire Department crews were on standby Wednesday morning after a reported incident downtown involving a manhole cover.
A witness heard an explosion around 9:30 a.m., which was followed by a small amount of smoke and fire. The manhole cover raised up a little, but a car ran over it, pushing it back down, IFD said. Tethers installed by Indianapolis Power & Light held. It happened near Ohio Street at Pennsylvania Avenue.
IPL said the problem was caused by faulty cabling. No one was hurt, and the center lane heading westbound on Ohio will be closed until the afternoon.
Downtown Indianapolis has experienced a series of problems with manhole covers over the years. IPL eventually installed locking manhole covers on more than 1,200 manholes downtown by the end of 2015. In case of pressurization, the covers go up a few inches instead of flying into the air.
