Water main burst on Main Street

February 25, 2015 · 0 Comments

Over the weekend a water main broke on Hwy. 89 (Main Street), north side, just past Centennial Road in Shelburne.
The rupture, caused by the deep frost pressing on the aging pipes, left an entire block without water for several hours.
Combined with heavy traffic patterns, the -30º C temperatures proved more than the 40 year old pipes could handle.
The Town of Shelburne was alerted to the problem when a homeowner called to report that his lawn was “bubbling”.
A crew from the Public Works Department was first on site around 11:30 a.m. on Friday. Three other companies, providing varying equipment and services were also called to the scene.
Crews dug-up the earth around the site, and, choosing not to tear up the roadway, they decided to cap the water main for the time being on either side of busy Main Street.
It was also decided that a tree, with roots which spread underneath the road, would need to be removed. An arbourist was called in to take down the mature tree, as the root system was damaged during digging. The tree had become unstable, and it likely could have fallen when the ground thawed.
Work crews from the Town will return to the site this summer to repair or replace the pipe. In the meantime, water has been redirected so it won’t pool or become stagnant in any of the dead ends.
Final cost of the damage is unknown at the time. Town of Shelburne CAO John Telfer told the Free Press that three invoices are still expected from the contacted companies. It is also unknown at this time what the cost will be to replace the water main or the road, which will need to be disturbed to get to the root of the problem.
Funding for the project will be taken from taxation.

By Wendy Gabrek