Repairs to broken water main in Walnut Creek completed

WALNUT CREEK — Traffic on one of the city’s main throughfares was expected to begin flowing again Saturday night after crews finished repairs on a broken water main that jammed that road and other ones since Thursday.

East Bay Municipal Utility District workers had been at Ygnacio Valley Road and Homestead Avenue since about 2:45 p.m. Thursday afternoon. The break caused the closure of lanes in both directions on Ygnacio Valley Road.

A handful of customers were deprived of their water until Friday morning.

EBMUD spokesperson Joseph Voelker Jr., said in an email Saturday night that workers completed the repairs by 5 p.m. Saturday. and that the excavated pit where the 70-year-old pipe burst had been refilled and paved.

Walnut Creek police continued to provide traffic control in the area and were slated to do so until 8 p.m. Saturday while city workers reinstalled a traffic signal pole that had been removed during the excavation, Voelker Jr. said. That time estimate was not a firm one, he said.

Motorists were urged to avoid the area until the signal pole was up and police were no longer monitoring traffic.