This story has been updated with additional details.
A water main rupture sent a gusher high into the air near the I Promise School on West Market Street in Akron during the June 29 evening commute.
City crews were on the scene soon afterward to disable the waterline and begin repair work.
West Market Street was closed between North Street and Oakdale Avenue.
A significant crater could be seen in the road after water was shut off to the spot, with the street buckling clear across.
Akron Service Director Chris Ludle, who was at the scene, said it could take hours to restore water to affected residents. Ludle said he believed the water outage affected nearby customers from Valley Street “all the way up not quite to Balch (Street).”
City spokeswoman Stephanie Marsh said via email, “Water has been shut off in the immediate area impacting the I Promise School, McDonalds, Circle K, and several other buildings in the immediate vicinity.”
“Right where the pavement blew up, there was a valve that controlled that hydrant. The valve actually broke and blew up,” Ludle said.
“We got the water turned off,” Ludle said. “We’re bringing a crew in, we’re going to cut a new valve in, we’re going to do a temporary repair of the road because it buckled, to make sure it’s not undermined and we’ll get everyone back on water.”
Marsh said that when the valve is replaced, water service can be restored. She said crews hoped to restore the water by later June 29 or early June 30.
Service crews were bringing barriers to prepare the street – Akron’s central east-west corridor – to reopen to traffic June 30, she said – with all traffic diverted to one side of the street.
“There is no boil water advisory as there was no loss in pressure to the area,” Marsh said.
Ludle said that someone would “probably” be out June 30 to investigate how badly the road is damaged.
“We’ll have to see how far it’s undermined,” he said. “Until we dig it, we’re not going to know.”
Contact reporter Derek Kreider at DKreider@Gannett.com or 330-541-9413.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Rupture sends column of water into sky near I Promise School
Reporting by Derek Kreider, Akron Beacon Journal / Akron Beacon Journal
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By Derek Kreider, Akron Beacon Journal | USA TODAY Network
