Oakland Zoo reopens after 40-ft sinkhole caused by winter storms forces 35-day closure

OAKLAND, Calif. (KGO) -- The Oakland Zoo is back open for business after being shut down for 35 days because of a massive sinkhole after recent storms.

"We're just looking forward to seeing everybody," Nik Dehejia, CEO of the Oakland Zoo said.

This comes after a 40-foot sinkhole caused by a collapsed culvert from recent storms was blocking the vehicle entrance to the zoo, forcing the zoo to close their doors until they could find a new pipe for the culvert and get it patched up.

RELATED: Oakland Zoo reopening this week after month of sinkhole repairs, Glowfari extended

The Oakland Zoo is set to reopen on Friday, more than a month after storm related damage forced it to shut down.

"Hundreds of thousands of dollars, just in terms of repairing that culvert, not to mention all of the other costs that the zoo had to take care of in terms of the property and the lost revenue, a half a million dollars a week, unfortunately, of lost revenue," Dehejia said.

And visitors from across the Bay Area couldn't wait to get back inside to see the animals.

"Any of the bears, the bears are always fun, right Gideon?" visitor Kayley Berger said.

RELATED: Sinkhole temporarily closes Oakland Zoo until at least Jan. 17

A sinkhole has caused the temporary closure of Oakland Zoo, with a reopening date of no earlier than Jan. 17.

The Berger family just bought an annual pass last night to get ready for opening day.

"We were waiting for about a month, we wanted to go in January with friends and family for his first trip and then they reopened and we didn't know if that was going to happen before I go back to work so we were very excited," Berger said.

Because of the closure, the Oakland Zoo has also extended its Glowfari from now until March 4.

If you're on the ABC7 News app, click here to watch live