Washington St closure could last over a week after water main burst
Thousands of people could soon be experiencing increased travel times and a massive traffic headache due to a road closure in La Quinta.
Officials say Washington Street between Avenida Tampico and Avenue 50 will be closed for at least several days after a water main burst late Monday night. All three lanes on the southbound side of Washington are now three to four feet below the rest of the road in a hole.
Bonnie McFarland describes her reaction upon seeing the massive hole, “You never think that’s going to happen where you live. You see it on the news.”
Caltrans workers shut down north bound lanes of Washington shortly after 5 P.M. on Tuesday, forcing residents and commuters to find alternative routes. But, construction on Eisenhower, the closest Washington alternative, could slow things down even further.
Angel Lopez lives in La Quinta and normally takes Washington everyday, but now is trying to figure out the best way around. She tells us, “Eisenhower is blocked off from Sinaloa on and I have to get to work on Washington so I’m going to have to find an alternate route tomorrow.”
The water main belongs to the La Quinta Dunes Golf Course, who are now responsible for hiring a contractor to fix the road. No residential water services will be affected but some residents aren’t happy that a contractor had yet to show up — more than 18 hours later.
Lopez continues, “It’s a pretty large community here and a lot of working families. That’s all the La Quinta Cove is, middle class working families like us and we need to get to our jobs. We need to get our kids to day care, school, what ever.”
Officials still don’t know what caused the main to break and, if the damage is more extensive, repairs could take over a week.
