Water main break shuts down downtown road in Manitou Springs

MANITOU SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) - Cañon Avenue to Pawnee Avenue is closed to cars after a water main broke overnight caused around 20 downtown businesses to lose water.

"This could be an all-day project," said Manitou Springs Public Works director Roy Chaney.

The city said the break spewed water and gravel across the roadway around 1 a.m. It said crews arrived on scene by 4 a.m. to start the cleanup. Workers began sawing into the pavement to try and get to the broken line so they could diagnose the damage around 8:30 p.m.

"It's really a thick road, so we have to cut through all the cement to actually get to where the pipes are. The pipes could be anywhere from 4 to 6 feet deep," Chaney said. "With these warm temperatures, cold temperatures, back and forth, and they're really extreme, it causes a lot of ground shifting problems."

The city said it contacted 178 phone numbers linked to both businesses and residents with properties in the affected area. The road is still open to foot traffic.

"Tourists are very resilient as well, so I'm sure they'll come and shop around here. I'm very hopeful of that," said 6412' Shirt Company employee Max Piccioni.

6412' Shirt Company opened at its regular time this morning despite the water main break. Others, like Red Dog coffee shop, had a sign in the window saying it was closed for the day because of the break.