THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, January 31, 1997 TAG: 9701310549
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: STAFF REPORT
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: 34 lines
A half-mile stretch of Wesleyan Drive, between Northampton Boulevard and Baker Road, likely will remain closed through today after a 24-inch water main was ruptured Thursday afternoon and a new break occurred late Thursday.
The street was closed shortly after 3:30 p.m. Thursday.
City crews had patched the main by late Thursday night. But, just before midnight, a new break was reported. It was unclear how large the new leak was.
With that, completing repairs and refilling the huge crater around the break will likely result in Wesleyan Road traffic being rerouted through Diamond Springs Road until this evening or later.
The original rupture happened when a mechanical borer at a cable installation site accidently punctured the underground main, said Jim Plaatsman, an engineer for the operations and maintenance division of the city's Public Works Department.
The repair work could stir up sediment that normally collects at the bottom of such mains, he said, which may show up later in taps of water customers in the area.
``This is pretty normal when water gets stirred up,'' he said. ``If they have any discolored water they should just let it settle for a couple of hours, and if they still have problems after that, they should call our after-hours number at 427-5616.'' ILLUSTRATION: VP Map
Area of main break
KEYWORDS: BROKEN WATER LINE VIRGINIA BEACH