Broken water main floods stretch of major Mission Valley road

SAN DIEGO (CNS) – A utility work crew accidentally ruptured a water main
while digging alongside Interstate 8 in Mission Valley Wednesday, causing a muddy
flood that inundated a frontage road and part of a hotel and backed up traffic
through the busy area for several hours.

The 8-inch-diameter pipeline off the 600 block of Hotel Circle South was
ruptured about 8 a.m., according to the San Diego Water Department.

The gushing water swamped Hotel Circle South near Bachman Place and
eroded part of a slope along the freeway, SDWD spokesman Arian Collins said.
One of the hotels that line the frontage road was partially flooded, and all
businesses along a three- to four-block section of it were left without
functional plumbing.

Traffic in the area, including on the interstate, was congested for
several hours, while repair personnel worked to halt the overflow, a process
completed just before 10 a.m., Collins said.

Crews restored water service to the affected addresses — including a
half-dozen hotels and several restaurants — in stages, starting around noon.
All of them were back on line by 2 p.m., according to Collins.

The stretch of street that had gotten soaked was expected remain closed
for cleanup into the early evening, he said.