City Looking To Move WWII Artifacts Out Of Freedom Park

A big decision looms about Omaha city park after flooding threatened the historical artifacts this past year.

Freedom Park, just southwest of Eppley Airfield, spent the majority of 2019 underwater and it was hit hard in the 2011 flood too.

There's a submarine, a minesweeper, and even a jet fighter at the park. The city wants to find a new home for these artifacts and other items and is looking into a study to see how to move everything.

“To move something of that magnitude takes a lot of coordination with a lot of different partners,” Brook Bench with Parks and Recreation told 6 News.

A WWII ship named the Hazard needs to be moved. It's the last minesweeper left in the United States. It's going to take a lot to move it.

“If we did move that minesweeper it would be such a huge project, it's going to take time and I don't think we would be able to get it done before spring,” Bench says.

On Tuesday the city council will be asked to hire a company that would do a mitigation study to see what it will entail moving these historical artifacts out of the flood plain, possibly to Levi Carter Park.

The city is also working with FEMA. “It's going to be a big-ticket item and we need to make sure it’s approved and help paid for,” Bench told 6 News.

He says cleanup still needs to be done at the park and moving out of Freedom Park is the best option they have right now. “The trend since 2011 has been the park seems it's been closed more than it's been open.”


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