Water will be temporarily restored by the end of Friday to more than 200 homes and six businesses on Viger Avenue, according to the City of Montreal.
They have been without water for over 24 hours as crews worked to fix a 12-inch water main that burst Thursday morning. The water flooded the Square-Victoria-OACI Metro station and forced a partial shutdown of the Orange line for hours.
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Philippe Sabourin, a city spokesperson, said repair work on the fractured water main has been postponed. An inspection showed the work would be too complex to complete by the end of the day, he added.
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Work on the pipe will be carried out on the weekend. That means water services will again be temporarily shut off during the repairs.
“We need to act swiftly,” Sabourin said. “But there is no room for error. There is too much infrastructure in the same area so we have to act very carefully to fix the situation.”
During the 24 hours without water, the city made portable lavatories and water bottles available to the dwellings. The city will offer the same amenities this weekend.
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The city has yet to determine the cause of the leak, but have ruled out the unseasonably cold weather as a factor.
Sabourin said the water main, which was installed in 2002, was last inspected by the city in August. No issues were reported during the inspection.
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