Pipe burst closes Hamilton

A Spokane city water pipe burst Friday afternoon, releasing a million gallons of water that buckled the pavement of Hamilton Street near Trent Avenue and snarled area traffic.

The failed 12-inch cast-iron pipe was installed in 1965, said Spokane Water Maintenance Supervisor Loren Searl.

Crews closed the street, which runs alongside the Gonzaga University campus, about 2 p.m. By late Friday crews reopened one southbound lane. City spokeswoman Marlene Feist said crews hope to restore two-way traffic by this afternoon.

A significant amount of pavement in the northbound lanes and the turn lane near the Centennial Trail overpass was damaged as water poured out of the road.

“I am sure there was more than a million gallons,” Searl said. “There’s no way I can accurately measure that.”

Water flowed south from the break, creating several large pools. Crews were on the scene with trucks to suck up the water as other crews worked on repairing the broken line.

A few businesses in the area were without water for a couple hours after the break. The nearby Warehouse athletic facility is slightly higher than the road and suffered no damage, facility manager Jared Tikker said. “It hasn’t disrupted us at all,” Tikker said.

“This will be a massive undertaking,” Searl said.