Pooling water has halted repairs in West Hollywood water main rupture, LADWP officials say
Nearly a week after a massive water main ruptured in West Hollywood, causing millions of gallons of water to rush onto city streets, Los Angeles Department of Water and Power officials say that repair work has suddenly halted due to a new issue.
The news comes after several days of around-the-clock work to fix the broken 36-inch steel main under Sunset Boulevard. With an apparent end in sight and hope that the road could finally be reopened to residents and business owners, LADWP officials say that pooling water has been discovered.
They said that the water began pooling at the surface of the eastern edge of their work area, near Holloway Drive, at around 8:30 p.m. Wednesday. The same location was severely impacted by a large sinkhole that opened in the aftermath of the main break.
"Our crews observed water coming up from the area currently being backfilled and prepared for paving," an update from LADWP said. "While compacting the concrete aggregate base in advance of final street resurfacing, water began to pool at the surface."
Crews began to excavate the area to find the source of the leak and assess the extent of the damage. It's unclear what additional work would be required and how much longer the timeline for repairs would last.
"This is an evolving situation and LADWP will provide additional information as soon as it is available," LADWP said.
When the pipe burst last Thursday, the world-famous Sunset Strip was inundated with approximately 17 million gallons of water. In the days since, hundreds of LADWP crew members have been working to fill the sinkhole, conduct water quality tests and repave the impacted area, with expectations of reopening the street by week's end.
City officials believe that as many as 200 vehicles could have been totaled after the subterranean parking garages in the area flooded after the water main broke.
The exact cause of the leak is still unclear, but LADWP officials said there's an ongoing investigation.
Road closures
Several streets in the area remain closed as crews continue working. Officials urge people to avoid the area and use alternate routes.
Hard closures (no through access)
- Horn Ave at Sunset Blvd, near the incident location
- Larrabee St at Santa Monica Blvd
- Palm Ave at Santa Monica Blvd
Soft closures (local residents and emergency vehicles only)
- Shoreham Dr at Sunset Blvd
- Holloway Dr between Palm Ave and Hancock Ave
- San Vicente Blvd at Cynthia St, near Fire Station 7
- San Vicente Blvd / N Clark St at Sunset Blvd
- Larrabee St at Sunset Blvd
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said people passing through soft closure points should have an ID or proof of residency readily available.
This is a developing story. Check back for details.
