NewsLocal News

Actions

Water main break in Springville makes roads icy, could cause problems for snow plows as storm moves in

Posted at 5:50 PM, Jan 05, 2019
and last updated 2019-01-05 20:40:41-05

SPRINGVILLE, Utah -- A water main break in Springville might cause some trouble for snow plows trying to clear the roads Saturday night.

Police started receiving calls around one a.m. about a massive amount of water on State Road 51.

The break happened in the area of 700 South Main Street and the water leaked down to the highway and was freezing over.

Crews were trying to divert water away from the highway, and police asked motorists to avoid 600 South through 800 South on Main Street

“That would help crews make sure that people stay out of that area so they don’t run into those ice situations that could cause additional problems for public safety,” Springville Police Department Lt. Warren Foster said.

UDOT crews were also called in to help sand down the ice on both SR-51 and SR-89.

That's a lot of work for a 6 inch pipe break.

“Not only did we have to call out the water department," Lt. Foster said. "We had to call out storm water people so that we could get it diverted to the right location so that we could get it removed."

Springville City crews were out most of Saturday, digging down 14 feet to fix the break.

While working, some crews commented it could’ve been caused by the rapidly changing temperatures from warm to freezing, but Lt. Foster is skeptical since the pipe is so deep in the ground.

“It could be age,” he said. “It could be shifting of the earth, lot’s of things that could come into play there.”

The roads was open by 4:30 p.m. and water in the area was turned on, but Lt. Foster said there is still some road damage.

"They can only do so much while it's so cold," he said.

Motorists are still asked to avoid the area as snow plows may have difficulties getting through the patched asphalt.