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Hernando Today

Burst Water Main Ties Up Traffic

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By KYLE MARTIN and MICHAEL BATES, Hernando Today

Published: January 24, 2008

SPRING HILL - A water main burst deep beneath Mariner Boulevard on Wednesday, forcing authorities to close the southbound lanes for hours at the notorious "Four Corners" intersection with Spring Hill Drive.

Water was first seen bubbling through sidewalk cracks on the southwest corner of the intersection about 8:15 a.m. It flowed down a slight incline and into the roadway, where it pooled with water surfacing through a fissure along the roadway's dividing line.

"You could just see it coming out," said Jack Waller, who works in the Shell garage on the corner near where the leak occurred.

He guessed the water was about 6 to 8 inches deep - hardly enough for tires to make a splash.

Utility workers in neon orange reflective vests set up barricades around 9 a.m., effectively shutting down any traffic headed towards County Line Road via Mariner.

The source of the leak was shut off and the ankle-deep water quickly drained away. Officials said no one lost water to a home or business.

Deputies turned up shortly after and began directing traffic at what's arguably the county's busiest intersection.

Within a span of 15 minutes, indignant motorists were honking their horns and skidding to a halt on the rain-slick roads.

After tending to the immediate concerns, engineers turned their attention to restoring the leaky pipe.

Repairs continued throughout Wednesday and one lane was eventually opened by late afternoon. Officials expect to find a source today, but repairs - and congestion - are expected to continue.

The pipe runs beneath the roadway, from the Shell Station to the Taco Bell, at a steep angle that drops from eight feet to 17 feet below the surface.

Above the pipe is a matrix of other utility pipes and wires, including Spring Hill's phone lines, gas connections and the cables for the traffic lights.

The typical solution for this type of situation is to dig up the culprit and replace it, but that's considered a last resort given the high traffic at the crossroads.

What engineers were considering Wednesday morning is inserting a new pipe and rerouting the water supply. A directional drill and other sophisticated machinery can accomplish that with minimal interruption to the public, said Chris Soto, a county utility inspector on the scene.

The backed-up traffic was reminiscent of the much-delayed construction project that widened the turn lanes at the Four Corners. The orange traffic barrels were finally removed last October after more than a year of construction.

Soto was one of the supervisors on that project.

"I thought it was done," he said as he surveyed the clogged traffic.

Reporter Kyle Martin can be reached at 352-544-5271 or kmartin@hernandotoday.com, and Michael Bates can be reached at 352-544-5290 or mbates@hernandotoday.com.

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