It's been five days since a massive sinkhole opened up in Haverhill, Massachusetts — and five days since some people have been able to go home because of it.
People impacted are will be able to finally return to their homes on Wednesday.
The City of Haverhill said that the immediate repairs to the sewer line have been done, and the sinkhole has been backfilled and stabilized. That means the 22 displaced residents on Ford Street will be able to return to their homes Wednesday.
Get New England news, weather forecasts and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NECN newsletters.
The cost for the overall repairs is mounting, with Haverhill now saying it's closer to $2 million. The damage stems from the torrential rains last week, which dumped several inches of water across parts of the Merrimack Valley — flooding homes and businesses, and prompting cities like Lawrence, North Andover and Haverhill to declare states of emergency.
Haverhill officials said that the storms ended up breaking an old brick sewer pipe at a ravine on Friday, causing the ground to cave; the sinkhole threatened a multi-family home nearby.
Nearly two dozen residents were evacuated to a nearby hotel while repairs took place.
"It was a big boom like something exploded," one resident, Marielena Lemus, described. "You could hear it from my house, because I was like 'Oh my God, what happened?'"
Meanwhile, work continues to make permanent repairs to the sewer pipe that broke and led to the sinkhole; that work could take about another month.
