Emporia’s Underground Utilities Department had a long weekend.
Crews handled a water line break in the 500 block of Wilson on Saturday. Almost as soon as they finished that job after 10 pm, they were called to a second water line break at Fourth and Congress. Public Works Director Dean Grant says his crews did well with both situations, and he says there were a couple key differences in the breaks.
All told, crews were at Fourth and Congress a little under 11 hours before getting that break fully fixed, and Grant says they had to go to valves on Commercial Street and at least to Neosho to turn the water off and continue their work. Access to the Congress Street underpass was totally shut down until after 10 am, and access to the south side of the underpass was still closed as of 3 pm.
Besides affecting a residential neighborhood, several businesses and the Lee Beran Recreation Center are near the Fourth and Congress work zone. No issues were reported. No issues were reported near Sixth and Wilson with the initial failure.
Grant says the city has had “a handful” of water line failures since temperatures went from well above normal for most of December to extremely cold on New Year’s Day and again Thursday.
11 am Sunday: Water line fixed at Fourth and Congress, but nearby underpass still closed
Lengthy repairs on an Emporia water main finished Sunday morning.
Emporia’s Underground Utilities Department was called to the intersection of Fourth and Congress around 10:30 pm Saturday after a water line failure. Public Works Director Dean Grant says crews finished their initial work around 9 am Sunday.
The repair work forced the city to close the Congress Street underpass as well as Congress from Second to Fifth. That closure is in effect until further notice.
Further details about the break and needed repairs are currently pending.
6:40 am Sunday: Water line break at Fourth and Congress shuts down nearby underpass
Access to one Emporia underpass is currently blocked as part of a water main issue nearby.
A water line failed near the intersection of Fourth and Congress on Saturday night. Crews with the Emporia Public Works Underground Utilities Department have been working to fix the leak since before 11 pm Saturday. There is currently no word on how many customers nearby are offline or when the line will be repaired.
Fourth is closed at the intersection. Congress, however, is closed from Second to Fifth, meaning drivers who typically use the Congress Street underpass will have to find another route.
The leak at Fourth and Congress follows a separate water line break in the 500 block of Wilson from Saturday. Underground Utilities crews had just finished with the Wilson Street break when the Fourth and Congress situation was reported.
