A sinkhole that shut down part of Orange Avenue for hours on New Year’s Eve was caused by a leaking water main – the second in a month, according to Brian Barreto from California American Water (Cal-Am), the company that provides water and wastewater services to the island.
The Coronado Police Department announced on Jan. 9 that Fourth Street and Orange Avenue would be partially closed until 3 p.m. while the water main is being fixed.
Barreto said a 16-inch water main running about four feet under the city’s main highway sprung a leak around 9 a.m. on New Year’s Eve, causing the asphalt above to give way.
Barreto said he didn’t know the dimensions of the cavity, but it was filled and paved by 11 p.m. that same night.
A sinkhole is a cavity in the ground that usually gives way due to erosion of the asphalt because of water. They can also vary in size depending on the damage done beneath the surface of the road.
“There is no concern for safety or any issues in the intersection at this time,” Barreto confirmed.
The water main, a large pipe that runs underground bringing treated water to the area, was isolated and no water is going through that part of the line.
The 16-inch water main runs all the way from the north end of Coronado Bay to Imperial Beach and is about 80 years old.
“There is a valve on the upstream and a valve downstream that they turned and shut water off to just that section of the pipe,” he explained.
According to Barreto, even though that portion of the main is off, no customers are going without water while waiting for it to be repaired.
When that work gets done, crews will have to excavate the roadway again to repair the bursted pipe and then fill the sinkhole back up before repaving the road.
It had another leak just about a month ago on Nov. 25, when the water pipe broke in the southbound lanes of Silver Strand Boulevard at Avenida Del Sol.
This didn’t produce a sinkhole, but caused flooding just outside the Hotel del Coronado.
Barreto said that there are age concerns with the pipe and there is an active proposal out from Cal-Am to work with the city and Caltrans to repair and upgrade the main.
