HOMESTEAD ROAD REOPENED IN SUNNYVALE
Water main break forced street closure
SUNNYVALE, Calif. – Sunnyvale Department of Public Works (DPW) crews reopened a portion of Homestead Road to traffic at 1 a.m. this (Friday, July 27) morning. The road was closed following a noontime break in a 24-inch water main that created a sinkhole and buckled several hundred feet of the roadway surface.
After excavating the area around the break, DPW workers found a 12-foot section of pipe that was damaged. It appears the damage was due to the age of the pipe – nearly 50 years – and not from any specific incident. Many American cities today face the problem of replacing aging infrastructure; Sunnyvale has a program to replace aging water and sewer pipes, but occasionally breaks do occur.
The water main that broke was a transmission line, part of the system’s backbone. Transmission lines do not connect directly to customers, but instead supply water to the distribution network. Once crews shut down the main Thursday afternoon, normal water pressure to customers was restored by providing water from other transmission lines. The water remained safe to drink.
DPW supervisors say it may take several days to complete the pipe repairs, but there should be no further impact to water customers.
The damaged portion of the eastbound lanes of Homestead Road, in front of Homestead High School between Mary Avenue and Kennewick Drive, has had the damaged road surface removed, allowing the two eastbound lanes to temporarily be converted to one eastbound and one westbound lane. The road is rough in that short section, but once the water main repairs are completed, the road will be resurfaced.