A massive repair job is underway to maintain water service to parts of Quinte West and Prince Edward County in southern Ontario.
Crews have already begun installing a temporary water pipe that stretches half a kilometre along the D.J. MacDonald Bridge in Trenton.
There is no time to bury the 20-inch diameter water pipe, so much of it will be placed above ground.
“The temporary water pipe will be strapped to the sidewalk railing on the north side of the bridge,” a statement from the city said.
The north sidewalk along the bridge will remain closed until the main water pipe is fixed, but no traffic lanes will be affected, the city said.
The emergency measure comes after Monday’s large water main break, when a concrete pipe first installed in the 1970s ruptured under the Trent River.
City of Quinte West officials are still unsure as to why it happened, but the concrete pipe was meant to last 80 to 100 years. The city expects the repair process to last several months, and says it will know more as they began that process.
The temporary bypass will restore water to impacted residents west of the river when it’s finished by the middle of next week, the city of Quinte West says.
A boil water advisory first implemented for Trenton’s west end was lifted Thursday.