photo by: Emma Delk
Wheeling Water Department workers continue to repair damage Monday after a 14-inch main broke near Eighth and Main streets Sunday afternoon.
Road closures in North Wheeling will continue as the Wheeling Water Department works to fix a 14-inch water break. The outage occurred at approximately 12:40 a.m. Sunday, with the Wheeling Water Department working into Monday night to fix the problem.
Although a small river no longer appeared to be running down Main Street by Monday evening, water had still pooled on the road.
Motorists were able to turn north on W.Va. 2 out of the Wheeling Tunnel starting Monday evening. That shift had closed due to the break. Crews were on Eighth Street with heavy machinery working on repairs.
Main Street was closed on Sunday due to the break, but is now open, while Eighth Street was the one that received the most damage from the break and remains closed. Not only are there deep holes in the pavement, but there is also debris in the street along with mud and sediment.
Danielle Kelley, a senior utility worker for the Wheeling Water Department, says they will be working through the night to cut the valve that will fix the main break. Once the main break is repaired, steps can be taken to reopen the roads.
Until the break is fixed, Kelley warned that some homes may not have water, though he noted that most homes in the area affected by the break have water back on.
“We have no idea why these pipe breaks occur,” Kelley added. “They just explode.”
The West Virginia Department of Highways must also finish clearing debris along the affected roads and streets before Eighth and Tenth streets can be opened. Once that happens, Wheeling Operations Department Superintendent Steve Johnston said the City of Wheeling Operations Division can begin repairing the pavement on Eighth and Main streets, which were torn up by the water flow from the breach.
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