CALGARY – Crews were forced to partially close a northwest road on Thursday morning, due to a watermain break.
They were alerted to the watermain break at 14th Street and 3rd Avenue N.W. around 5 a.m.
Water that pooled on the roadway froze, becoming a danger for drivers.
Calgary Transit is warning users the closure may cause some minor delays on various routes.
City crews aren’t sure how long it will take to repair the watermain break.
A total of 15 businesses are currently without water.
In the last week, City of Calgary workers have been called to five water main breaks, bringing the total they’ve responded to since the beginning of December close to 40.
Workers say they’re not too worried about the freeze-thaw cycle that is happening right now, because the pipes are protected by three metres of dirt.
They say it’s actually the prolonged cold which makes watermain breaks so common this time of year.
“As the winter extends and the ground frost reaches down below ground, it really starts to put a lot of push and pull forces on that pipe, and starts to put a strain on the older parts of our system,” says Scott Eaglson with City of Calgary Water Services.
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