Oak Ridge Today

City workers repair broken water lines Saturday

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An Oak Ridge Public Works Department crew repairs a broken water line underneath Northwestern Avenue near Nevada Circle at lunchtime Saturday, Jan. 6, 2018. The crew here is supervised by Oak Ridge Public Works Department Utility Line Maintenance Crew Chief Michael Brown. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

An Oak Ridge Public Works Department crew repairs a broken water line underneath Northwestern Avenue near Nevada Circle at lunchtime Saturday, Jan. 6, 2018. The crew here is supervised by Oak Ridge Public Works Department Utility Line Maintenance Crew Chief Michael Brown, left. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was updated at 12 p.m.

The Oak Ridge Public Works Department continued to repair broken water lines on Saturday as cold winter weather caused ground to shift, breaking some pipes.

One crew was repairing a six-inch water line underneath Northwestern Avenue near Nevada Circle at about lunchtime Saturday, and there was another busted line reported on East Tennessee Avenue just east of Georgia Avenue.

Saturday night, city workers repaired another broken water line underneath Northwestern Avenue, this time near Nasson Lane and Princeton Avenue, and two more water line breaks were reported on Emerson Circle and Kentucky Avenue.

A crew was out past 1 a.m. Sunday finishing repairs on that second water line break under Northwestern Avenue, the one near Nasson Lane, as temperatures dropped again overnight. [Read more…]

City reports 20 water line breaks in four days

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A break in a 10-inch water line was reported about 10 feet under Tyler Road at about noon Friday, Jan. 5, 2018. A second crew was expected to provide relief to the first crew at about 10 p.m. Friday. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

A break in a 10-inch water line was reported about 10 feet under Tyler Road at about noon Friday, Jan. 5, 2018. A second crew was expected to provide relief to the first crew making repairs at about 10 p.m. Friday. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was updated at 1 a.m.

The City of Oak Ridge reported about 20 water main breaks in four days of below-freezing temperatures, and crews were working to repair one 10-inch water line about 10 feet below Tyler Road near Oak Ridge Turnpike on Friday night.

The City of Oak Ridge said the Oak Ridge Public Works Department has been working around the clock in cold temperatures to repair broken water mains and restore service.

The water line break under Tyler Road was reported at about noon Friday. City workers turned off nine valves between that break and Central Avenue and Tennessee Avenue, but water continued to flow. Workers weren’t able to completely close one valve after it broke, and they were waiting for a second crew to relieve them at about 10 p.m. Friday. In the meantime, a short section of Tyler Road remained closed at Oak Ridge Turnpike, and it wasn’t clear how long it would take to repair the water line. [Read more…]