Burst water main on Hindley and Morphett streets causes traffic chaos
UPDATED: REPAIRS have finished on a burst water main that caused peak-hour traffic chaos in the city this morning. Morphett St will reopen to all traffic.
REPAIRS on a burst water main which shut down a busy thoroughfare in the city have been completed with the road now reopened to traffic.
An excavator was brought in to help repair a burst water main that caused peak-hour commuter chaos in the city on Wednesday morning.
A water pipe sprung a leak at the corner of Morphett and Hindley streets about 6.10am, causing major traffic delays at the busy intersection.
King William Rd, Glover Ave, Currie St and Jeffcott Rd were also slow as a result of the rupture as traffic was detoured around the burst.
Roads in the area remain closed as workers attempt to fix the rupture.
Water gushed down Morphett St for nearly two hours until the water supply was switched off just before 8am.
An SA Water technician was on scene about 7.30am.
An SA Water spokesman said traffic restrictions remained in place around the burst.
“All north and southbound lanes on Morphett St are currently closed between Currie St and War Memorial Drive and traffic restrictions will remain in place until repairs are complete,” he said.
“We apologise for the inconvenience and appreciate the community’s patience while we work to resolve this incident as soon as possible.”
The spokesman confirmed no customers were without water as a result of the leak and SA Water would keep commuters updated on the progress of the repair throughout the day.
More than 12 hours after the rupture, at 7.47pm, SA Water said the repairs were complete and the road would begin to be reopened at about 8.30pm.
It comes after thousands of litres of water was sprayed on to a home for almost an hour after a pipe burst in Adelaide’s east on Tuesday evening.
A main in Robson Rd, Hectorville ruptured about 4.45pm on Tuesday, flooding the yard of a nearby property, and was not isolated until about 6pm.
The SA spokesman said about 30 people were without mains water for about two hours.
He said the process to shut off the water started about 5.10pm.
“Water mains are shut off slowly and carefully to prevent sudden pressure changes causing damage to other parts of the surrounding network,” he said.
“Crews were able to successfully complete repairs and restore mains water supply by 7.45pm.”
The spokesman said the SA Water Community Support team attended to provide assistance and drinking water to affected residents.
“A clean-up crew was organised to help tidy the yard and exterior of the house closest to the location of the break, and we will continue to work with the owner until their property is returned to the same state it was in before the incident. Initial reports indicate the interior of the home was unaffected,” he said.
SA Water has now begun laying 217 metres of new water pipe in Robson Rd to replace the 51-year-old main that broke.
Work is expected to be completed next month.
The spokesman said the weather may have played a part in two bursts.
“The movement of clay soils around Adelaide is a common cause of water main incidents,” he said.
“After a dry spell, recent rains have saturated soils and increased this movement, adding weight on our water mains, and increasing the potential for breaks and leaks.”
Meanwhile, Adelaide Metro’s eftpos machines were down for much of Wednesday morning.
At 10.15am, commuters were advised the machines were back in operation.