Fred Waring reopens after water pipe repaired

Update: Fred Waring Drive reopened between El Dorado and Warner Trail Thursday morning.

Original article:

Officials with the Coachella Valley Water District were hoping to reopen a damaged portion of Fred Waring Drive by the end of the day Wednesday, but while repairing a damaged water pipe, they found potential problem areas that could lead to future leaks.

Now, CVWD officials said the road will remain closed until at least Thursday morning.

City managers initially hoped to have the eastbound lanes of Fred Waring Drive between El Dorado and Warner Trail open on Tuesday. The pavement repairs were necessary in the wake of a broken water pipe that heavily damaged the roadway. The work took longer than expected, and then officials had to hold off until Wednesday due to impending weather.

CVWD Spokeswoman Heather Engle said, “We decided that it was in the communities best interest to look at other areas of the pipe near the leaking area. So they investigated other areas around the original leak, the same pipe, and discovered another area of the pipe that may have began leaking soon.”

CVWD crews are in the process of repairing the pipe and, as mentioned, now hope to have all repairs complete by Thursday morning, according to the release.

The city still has to repave a 200-foot stretch of roadway that is three lanes wide before the road can reopen.

Engle said they are sorry for the inconvenience to commuters, but they felt it was in the public’s best interests to delay reopening Fred Waring to traffic at this time due to safety issues.

The recycled water pipe burst Saturday afternoon and collapsed one lane of the road. Crews shut down eastbound lanes on Sunday but westbound lanes weren’t affected.

Fred Waring Drive is a major roadway through Indian Wells. Its eastbound full closure has impacted many commuters in the area.

News Channel 3 and CBS Local 2 will let you know as soon as the repairs are complete.