Riverside Drive Now Open After 9 Month Closure

After a massive sinkhole formation on Riverside Drive in Downtown Evansville in February, the road has officially reopened.

If Downtown Evansville is a part of your daily commute, you know that the area has been under quite a bit of construction in 2025. Various parts of downtown have had detours and closures for a few different reasons. However, one road closure has been the topic of conversation more than any other. The infamous Riverside sinkhole.

The Great Evansville Sinkhole of 2025

On February 24th, it was announced that Riverside Drive was completely closed to all traffic between Cherry Street and Chestnut Street while the Evansville Water and Sewer Utility investigated a large sinkhole. The sinkhole that formed was caused by an issue with a large brick sewer located 25 feet below the road surface that was over 100 years old.

There were a few setbacks along the way, including the heavy rainfall that Evansville received. The rain that we received during March and April caused the brick sewer to overflow with a combination of groundwater from the river and sewer overflows. On top of that, the river level caused the sewer to refill with water faster than it could be pumped out. So, that put a damper on repairing the sinkhole.

Fast forward a couple of months, and officials said they hoped to have the area repaired and opened by the end of October. Unfortunately, Mother Nature had other plans. More rain caused a delay in the expected opening timeframe. However, a more recent update from Evansville Water and Sewer Utility said that they had planned on having that area opened by today, November 24th.

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Riverside Drive Now Open

Finally, after about nine months, Riverside Drive has officially reopened. Evansville Water and Sewer Utility has been working diligently to get to this point, despite facing many setbacks. While it's a sigh of relief for those of us who have been eagerly awaiting this stretch of road to reopen, it has to be even more of a relief for those who have been working on it.

So, as of late Monday morning, Riverside Drive is officially reopened. That being said, crews have only opened one lane in each direction while restoration and repair work continues in that area.

No timeline has been given as to when the road will be fully reopened at this time. We will continue to update you on further updates as they become available.