NORFOLK, Va. — One lane of Waterside Drive in Norfolk reopened Wednesday following a break in the water main that workers have finished repairing.
City officials had closed the road at its intersection with St. Paul's Boulevard on Tuesday afternoon. As of 8:21 a.m., Waterside Drive is down to one lane eastbound between Atlantic Street and the entrance to Interstate 264. Detours are still in place.
Officials with the City of Norfolk said restoration of the roadway will be finished sometime on Wednesday.
Whether driving on the road or walking across the street, people couldn’t escape water at their feet Tuesday afternoon. Water gushed onto the streets at the height of rush hour. As crews worked to repair it, evening commuters tried to be patient.
“I really just wanted to try and get home from work. I have a lot of errands to do, and this is very unexpected,” said Dejonna Mayo, who got stuck driving home. "I never assumed there would be so much traffic going home from work. It usually never is.”
Lizabeth Schuch, found it challenging to cross the street to get to her hotel room. She's in town for a conference at the Sheraton Hotel near the main break.
“I was going to try and cross, but obviously, I’m not. I’m going to go way down and around and go that way,” Schuch said.
Officials didn't say how long the road will be closed for.
Norfolk's Department of Utilities said that some customers may not have water while the repair was being made, and that some others could experience "lower than normal" pressure.
On Tuesday, the department said it was working to isolate the issue to a small number of customers, and restore service.
The department also said that when there is a shutdown at the Waterside Drive and St. Paul's Boulevard, "there will be some high-volume customers impacted." This break was also not connected to the one happening in Ocean View.
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