BUCKTOWN — Wednesday's storm did not bring tons of snow as expected, but a two-block stretch of Damen was closed after powerful winds caused a street light's pole to snap, causing the massive structure to dangle dangerously over the road.
The incident happened around 6 p.m. Wednesday in the 1600 block of North Damen Avenue, just south of Wabansia Avenue, several witnesses said.
Shakespeare District police blocked off the road to car traffic but pedestrians were able to pass through, many stopping to take photos and marvel at the fact the street light was still working, shining brightly into the pavement.
Kaina Castillo, a studio guide at BucketFeet, 1647 N. Damen Ave., said the store's manager was getting into a Lyft outside the shop within seconds of the pole falling over.
"She watched it fall and took off. She called me and told me to look outside," Castillo said.
Arturo Aceves, manager of Goddess and Grocer, 1649 N. Damen Ave., said, "Thank God nobody was passing by with a car when it happened."
"We are also thankful it broke the other way, away from our store," Aceves said, referring to the fact the pole could have crashed into Goddess and Grocer had the wind of been blowing in the opposite direction.
Early Thursday, Ryan Almanza, a worker at Goddess and Grocer, said crews were working on repairing the post, which was surrounded by orange safety cones.
On Thursday, a CDOT spokesman said that crews were on the scene by 7:30 p.m. Wednesday to remove the street light pole, which will be replaced with a new one on Friday.
"It was a severe storm with very powerful wind gusts. CDOT had 27 crews out around the city responding to various reports of storm damage, including wires down, traffic signals out and damage to light poles. As always, safety of the public and our crews is our top priority," the CDOT spokesman said.
Street pole damaged in front of Goddess and Grocer. [Ryan Almanza/Goddess and Grocer]
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