Water main breaks continue to affect two city streets

Workers are expected to partly reopen a stretch of West Fillmore Street that has been closed since Tuesday after a water main break.

Colorado Springs Utilities said one lane in each direction would be open to traffic and that workers would finish repairs Friday.

“Leaking water undermined part of the street,” utility spokeswoman Patricia Lehermeyer said. “This break was very complex. Workers replaced about 16 feet of pipe. That’s very unusual.”

The break on Fillmore Street is between Chestnut Street and Centennial Boulevard, just west of Interstate 25. The road was supposed to reopen Wednesday.

Meanwhile, repairs on another broken water main are taking longer than expected on eastbound Garden of the Gods Road, near Mark Dabling Boulevard.

“That’s an unusual situation, too,” Lehermeyer said. “Workers are having hard time locating and reaching the leak. Safety is more of an issue there. We’ve called in additional resources. We’re trying to get it repaired as soon as we can.”

The break has been maddening for drivers, especially during rush hours, as traffic around the break merges from three lanes to one.

“This is crazy,” a driver yelled from his car as he slowly passed the area. “You have traffic coming off the Interstate and east from Garden of the Gods, all trying to get on Nevada Avenue or Austin Bluffs Parkway. Yesterday, traffic was backed up on Garden of the Gods all the way to 30th Street.”

Lehermeyer advises drivers to avoid the area, or leave early to allow plenty of time for travel through the work zone.