Water Main Break Causes Emergency Repairs, Lane Closures on E. Franklin Street in Chapel Hill

UPDATE: The Town of Chapel Hill issued an alert at 1:10 p.m. saying all lanes of East Franklin Street have reopened to traffic after road repairs.

Part of East Franklin Street in Chapel Hill shut down Friday morning as crews responded to a leaking water main that spilled water onto the road.

An overnight alert from the Town of Chapel Hill to media outlets warned of East Franklin Street being closed to one lane in either direction of traffic near Roosevelt Drive, which is a residential stretch of the road. The Orange Water and Sewer Authority began repair work immediately to fix the break to the water main, and a representative for the agency told Chapelboro that sand and salt was put down on the road to provide traction after the leaking water froze.

OWASA said shortly before 8:45 a.m., repairs to the water main were complete and crews were beginning to clean the area and replace the asphalt on East Franklin Street. The Town of Chapel Hill urged road users to consider a different route traveling east and west of the downtown on Friday until repairs are complete.

According to OWASA’s outage website, roughly 110 water and sewer customers in the area are impacted by the water main break. While they may still have service, residences and buildings in the area of East Franklin and Roosevelt Drive are under a boil water advisory for the next 18-24 hours to ensure no contaminants entered the water supply amid repairs.

Featured photo via the Orange Water and Sewer Authority.

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