Montrose, CO – Members of the City of Montrose’s Street Department are continuing to replace an old water pipe that ruptured under Townsend Avenue near the intersection of South 12th Street Tuesday. City crews have closed one lane of northbound Townsend Ave, and both lanes of South 12th Street immediately east of Townsend. The area is scheduled to reopen Tuesday evening. 

According to City Engineer Scott Murphy, city crews responded to the scene at around 8 p.m. Monday evening, after a reported pipe valve had broken. When the street was excavated the team learned that not only had the valve ruptured, but also, the pipe itself was broken open, spilling thousands of gallons of city water onto Townsend Avenue. The crew worked throughout the night and into Tuesday afternoon trying to located the pipe’s origin and fix the leak. 

Murphy said the pipe was previously not identifiable on any of the city’s water infrastructure maps and wasn’t recorded in any of the city’s water databases. He added that the pipe itself was a 50-to-60-year-old line, which was connected to a cast-iron water valve.

Fresh crew members were called in to replace those who had worked throughout the night. Murphy said because of the age of the pipe, location, and the fact it wasn’t previously mapped, this suggested that the repairs would take longer than usual. 

To report any water service outages, residents are encouraged to call 970.240.1480.

Any questions regarding the project may be directed to City Engineer Scott Murphy at 970.901.1792.

For more City news visit: CityOfMontrose.org.

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