Burst Water Main Ties Up Traffic

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.