Goodwood Rd traffic disrupted after flooding from burst water main
TRAFFIC restrictions are in place until Wednesday morning down a key stretch of Goodwood Rd following a burst water main, which has left several shops at risk of flooding.
TRAFFIC restrictions are in place until Wednesday morning down a key stretch of Goodwood Rd following a burst water main, which has left several shops at risk of flooding.
State Emergency Services (SES) units were sent to the water main, which sent coursing water down Goodwood Rd just after 5pm on Tuesday.
Traffic has been restricted along Goodwood Rd just south of the tramline and will continue into Wednesday morning due to works.
The road was blocked earlier.
The flowing water threatened businesses on one side of the road, forcing owners to sand bag and block doors with towels.
It is understood SA Water workers were on-site shortly after the burst but switched the valve off at 6.12pm, halting the flow.
“You would have thought that with the number of burst water mains we have seen on major roads this year, that SA Water would have put some process in place to enable a rapid shutdown of water when this situation happens,” Opposition infrastructure spokesman David Pisoni said at the scene.
“I would have thought that when the SA Water representative gets here the water would be shut off, but my understanding is that he has been here for 45 minutes now and the water is still pouring out of that hole.”
Mr Pisoni linked the burst water main with recent road works, which required heavy machinery to move down the cracked and ageing road.
“I would have thought SA Water would have been made aware that the stobey poles were being replaced and new light poles were coming in,” he said.
“This involved heavy machinery coming through Goodwood Road in the evenings and there should have been some monitoring of water pipes in the area.
“What we are seeing today is a lack of planning, a lack of foresight, and a lack of understanding.”
Mr Pisoni called for continued monitoring of the pipes and a campaign of pipe replacement.
“I am concerned about what we are seeing here today on top of what we have been seeing all year with water main burst coming up across the city and causing delays and major damage to businesses,” he said.
“Unley in particular has suffered enormously from burst water pipes from the beginning of the year right through now to the end of the year.
“I have obtained a list of forward planning for water pipes throughout metropolitan Adelaide, unfortunately Goodwood Road is not on the list in the foreseeable future.”
Work on the road was expected to continue into the night as crews work to replace pipe and repair the road damaged in the burst.
The extent of the damage to local businesses are not yet known.
Another burst water main at Prospect opened a hole on Gladstone Rd on Tuesday morning.
The burst was so powerful it sent water spraying into overhead powerlines on Gladstone Rd, covering the footpath with stand and rocks before the leak was plugged by SA Water crews sometime before 8.30am.
The gusher left a gaping half-metre hole adjacent to the footpath.
The hole was so deep, The Advertiser’s cut-out of Water Minister Ian Hunter almost slipped out of view.