Someone took a truck for a spin through a pedestrian-only part of Centennial Mall this weekend, turning the pristine plaza into a mud track a week before a planned dedication ceremony.
The damage is mostly minor, said J.J. Yost, planning and construction manager for the city Parks and Recreation Department.
But skid marks could be tough to remove from the multicolored, hand-engraved paving stones that comprise a map of Nebraska's ecological regions outside the State Office Building.
"Hopefully high-pressure spraying will do it," Yost said, adding that using chemicals on the tire marks might discolor the pavers.
City officials suspect the mess was made Sunday night; state employees noticed it as they arrived to work Monday morning.Â
Whoever was driving the truck entered along M Street through a gap in the bollards — metal posts embedded in concrete — created when another vehicle plowed into one of them earlier this year.
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This time, "they kept on going," said city horticulturalist Steve Nosal.
Thick, knobby tires tore a block-long track into the grass and plants, streaking mud and black rubber across the paving stones.
There's no way out on L Street, so the driver circled back and left the same way he or she entered.
"It looked fairly intentional," Nosal said. "They knew what they were doing."
Police will be asked to investigate.
A contractor had already been hired to replace the missing bollard, Yost said. It's on the to-do list.
A dedication ceremony and guided tours of the seven-block stretch north of the Capitol are set for 1:30 p.m. Sunday.