West Hollywood main break: Sunset Boulevard set to reopen overnight
WEST HOLLYWOOD, Calif. (KABC) -- Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood is set to reopen overnight after the stretch was shut down by a massive water main break just over a week ago, officials announced Friday evening.
The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power said its personnel will demobilize overnight and the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department will lift all local street closures.
"From the start, LADWP has prioritized safety, recognizing that the reopening of the street depended on our ability to safely fill and repressure the pipe," LADWP said in a statement. "However, due to recurring leaks following attempted repairs, LADWP crews shifted to an alternate plan that allows us to safely move forward with street restoration and isolate a section of the water pipe, while maintaining reliable and safe water service."
The time of the reopening was not announced.
The agency said emergency road repairs have made it possible to reopen the street, but noted that the current street paving is temporary.
"Our crews will return in the coming weeks to complete permanent street paving," the statement added. "LADWP will coordinate with City of West Hollywood officials to inform the local community once work schedules are finalized to reduce the impact of any lane closures required to complete the remaining work."
The sound of heavy machinery continued across Sunset Boulevard hours after the utility's expected reopening deadline had passed, frustrating residents and people who work in the area.
LADWP had expected to reopen Sunset Boulevard by late Friday, but utility officials said repeated leaks kept changing the plan. After finding another leak during pressure testing early Friday morning, LADWP scrapped its original repair strategy.
"So now we're gonna call an audible and switch to plan B," LADWP Interim General Manager David Hanson said. "Plan B is going to be to abandon that pipe in place."
Under the revised plan, crews will isolate a section of pipeline near Sunset Boulevard and Horn Avenue, install a new distribution valve and reroute water through another, smaller pipe.
LADWP said the temporary approach will leave about 25 homes without water while the valve is being replaced. The utility said the change will also allow crews to complete backfilling, repaving and restriping work on the roadway.
While LADWP said Sunset Boulevard would reopen overnight, officials noted that permanent street repairs will continue in the coming weeks.
Residents said they remain hopeful but cautious after multiple delays.
Sunset Boulevard closure costing businesses millions
Heavy machinery, road closures and detours on Sunset Boulevard are all making it harder for folks to get around.
Many businesses have been dealing with the headaches for over a week.
"Since then it's been super slow, super, super slow because no access for people in the cars. That's most of the clients in the morning," said Patricia Vasquez, who works at The Coffee Bean.
The Coffee Bean sits directly in front of the sinkhole that formed, and the emergency repairs and roadwork that followed.
"The Uber drivers, the Door Dash drivers, they struggle to get here because they can't park on red or around the area," she said. "They have to have a permit to park in the street. It's a hassle for everybody."
The coffee shop was forced to shut down for the four days after the water pipe burst and reopened on Monday.
"We're not able to get anything so I have to go to another location to grab my stuff and bring it," Vasquez said. "It's hard because the street is closed so I have to walk a lot."
Jacob Shaw, president of the West Hollywood Chamber of Commerce said, the weeklong closure has put a dent in some businesses' bottom lines.
"I'd be remiss if I didn't say how important it is to have the foot traffic and to have the through traffic to come to West Hollywood," he said.
A small number of businesses remain closed, including Dialog Cafe which suffered the worst blow from rush of water.
Home base businesses were also affected.
"There are people that live down Palm Avenue that have home-based businesses so a lot of the things that we're not considering in all of this is that those people are also affected. They can't be in their home. They can't run their business out of their home," Shaw said.
The exact economic impact of the water main break and emergency repairs is unknown but the Chamber of Commerce suspects it's in the millions of dollars.
"The bigger damage is more to not having foot traffic, not having parking, not having people be able to come in," Shaw added.
The Chamber of Commerce is using social media to let people know the area is open for business.
Meanwhile, shops are eager to welcome back their loyal customers.
City News Service contributed to this report.
