Thursday Morning Water Main Break Slowed Afternoon Traffic

A 12-inch water main break erupted onto Ridge Avenue early Thursday morning, though crews quickly shut it down avoiding major traffic backups. Throughout the day, workers repaired the area, and altered the traffic flow.

The traffic-light intersection at Ridge and Manayunk Avenues, more-or-less the Roxborough-Wissahickon-Manayunk border, witnessed a break just before 7 a.m. Thursday, Philadelphia Water Department spokesperson John DiGiulio said.

Unlike the major breaks in Tioga or Bainbridge Street earlier this summer—or the —the break was relatively small. Crews had it shut off by 7:45 a.m., he said.

Some homes in the immediate area experienced water coming into their basements. Additionally, the work impacted water service to about 50 properties in the vicinity around Ridge and Manayunk Avenues. One resident posted on that Roxborough-Manayunk Patch Facebook page that water pressure was low at his home on Vicaris Street.

The break occurred outside any direct construction areas—just down the road from major roadwork on Manayunk Avenue. DiGiulio said no immediate cause was available, he said, and it might have been an isolated break. 

By 9 a.m., traffic flowed normally and water was virtually nonexistent on Ridge Avenue. Any liquid remnants flowed downhill on Manayunk Avenue to Salaignac Street.

The intersection had some headaches Thursday afternoon as crews worked through rush hour to repair the impacted area around Ridge. Workers alternatively stopped one lane of traffic on Ridge Avenue while repairing the break. 

"It's certainly going to slow things up, but to operate a detour there would be quite troublesome," DiGiulio said.

After a May water , water department spokesperson Laura Copeland said the city is constantly performing maintenance projects—roughly 200 projects at a time.

"We try to minimize things like this. We have an aggressive leak detection program, and we replace about 20 to 25 miles per year," she said. "It's a challenge to stay on top. Unfortunately, (water main breaks) do happen."

DiGiulio said water main breaks can occur every day. Their severity and the attention they get are what may impact public opinion.

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