Repairs are complete at two of the three water main breaks in Syracuse a week after one of them caused the roadway to cave in and swallow a car. The water department said the breaks on North Geddes Street, South Warren, and Burnet Ave were unrelated.
Water main breaks are nothing new for Syracuse, but they’re less common in the summer, and usually don’t cause roads to cave in. Water Commissioner Robert Brandt told common councilors earlier this week age and other factors are in play.
“The one on Warren Street, the main was put in 1891, 130 years old," he said. "We have a lot of construction going on in the city with the 81 project. And I try to tell people they're actually cave-ins. The water main breaks, it pushes all the soil out of the ground, the road caves in.”
Many refer to them as "sinkholes," but Brandt says that's where the soil erodes with no explanation.
The smaller cave-in on Burnet Ave. is adjacent to the ongoing construction on I-690. That one didn’t cause road closures like the one on North Geddes Street at the end of the 690 westbound exit ramp that swallowed a car. The ramp and road are open and traffic is flowing after crews mostly finished the work. Still, there are a number of barricades and orange barrels around the worksite.
Commissioner Brandt said the water department has hydrant sensors that trigger alarms when pressure drops in the system.
“And then we go out and we correlate and we sound for leaks," he said. "These were just breaks. They weren't leaking first. They just gave way. And on that day, every detection device went off.”
Crews continue to finish repairs on South Warren Street downtown, which as of Thursday afternoon remained closed at East Onondaga Street.
