Two weeks after a pair of major water main breaks on parts of Prairie Street in northwest Emporia, the street is finally repaired enough to allow for traffic to move through without issue.
A 20-inch water main failed on the Fourth of July near Park Avenue, with the same line failing near West 18th Avenue on July 5 — less than an hour after the line was fixed further south.
The waterline was repaired near 18th and Prairie Street was reopened by July 7 despite the failure lifting the pavement some five inches and throwing a concrete sidewalk slab out of position. The break near Park Avenue was not as visibly forceful, but the damage below ground — the subgrade — was more substantial, forcing a longer closure before the street could reopen.
The cast-iron pipe in question was installed in the late 1920s and was replaced by a PVC pipe.
