Chaos, devastation in the heart of Upper Monroe

Chaos reigned in the heart of Upper Monroe last Saturday night when a water main burst. Nearby homes were devastated as massive amounts of water pushed into basements between Monroe Avenue and Rt. 490. Repairs to the water main will take several days. Cleanup and road repairs are expected to take weeks. Street closure may hurt businesses on Monroe Avenue.

A water leak seeping onto Monroe Avenue that began early in the day on Saturday became a torrent when a buried 36” water main burst in front of the Brotherhood of the Cross and Star church near the corner of Rosedale Street. Over several hours tens of thousands of gallons of water gushed up from the metal wound creating a crater eventually measuring more than 15 feet wide and several feet deep.

Once on the surface of Monroe Avenue most of the water quickly flowed down and away from Pinnacle Hill and Cobbs Hill in a northwesterly direction towards low lying sections in the neighborhood. Storm sewers in the area were overwhelmed by the volume of water causing backwash into basements. Many neighbors reported experiencing a temporary loss of water supply presumably related to city crews trying to stanch the unwelcomed river flowing from the break. Water supply was restored before dawn on Sunday morning without negatively affecting potability.

The escaping water quickly developed into a massive pool that covered a full block from Rosedale Street to Harwood Street washing over sidewalks on both sides of Monroe Avenue and leaving behind a slippery skin of mud on sidewalks and streets. Some of the decorative brick pavers installed on the corner of Rosedale in the late 1990s were upended or loosened in the process. Likewise, the lawn area and sections of a sidewalk leading to the church were damaged.

As the waters rose Monroe Avenue became unpassable for vehicles causing chaos as turntail drivers sought escape routes. Most did so without incident but a number of others found it necessary to either lean on horns or flash headlights to avoid collision and express frustration. Private driveways and parking lots along Monroe Avenue saw heavy use. Side streets leading up from Monroe Avenue towards Pinnacle Hill carried the brunt of redirected traffic. Some neighbors on the scene were heard to express relief that the next few hours would be free of scofflaw motorcyclists while several onlooking neighbors turned from taking pictures & video to returning home to assess impacts related to the break at their properties.

By early Sunday morning the incident epicenter was marked off with yellow caution tape and marred by barricades and construction vehicles. City crews were hard at work all day. The supervisor on-site expected a permanent repair to the offending water pipe would take at least a day or two with temporary repairs to the street surface following thereafter. No one present at the scene knew for sure when damage to sidewalks and related city-maintained features would be addressed. They speculated final pavement repairs could take weeks.

Private catastrophes were added to all the public damage. Calls to UMNA and news reports revealed numerous neighbors dealing with water-related issues at their properties and to their cars. At least one neighbor described significant foundation damage. In addition, neighbors in the affected areas expressed anxiety related to various safety concerns stemming from the event. The days ahead are sure to be filled with myriad tasks associated with the afteraffects of this unfortunate incident.

One of the better news reports capturing the immediate aftereffects of the water main break was posted by 13WHAM <HERE>.