ORLANDO, Fla. — Orange Avenue is back open again and traffic is flowing between Marks and Park Lake streets after being closed due to a water main break that happened on Monday.
- North Orange Avenue is back open
- Asphalt expected to come in on Tuesday
- Pipe that burst was installed in the 1880's
- RELATED: Water Main Break Floods Orlando's Orange Avenue, Swallows SUV
North Orange Avenue reopened at around 6:35 a.m. Tuesday. The break happened in the area of North Orange Avenue and Park Lake Street.
The Orlando Utilities Commission confirmed on Monday afternoon that the water main break "impacted service to both residential and commercial customers."
In fact, the break caused an SUV to be nearly swallowed by a hole that opened in the road.
A major water main break in downtown Orlando Monday afternoon. @MyNews13https://t.co/CqxCD04VQQ pic.twitter.com/Vhx3pM2Hmw
— Matt Fernandez (@MattMyNews13) March 26, 2019
The driver R.J Borum says he did see police in the area but had no idea there was a big hole ahead.
"Kinda like you were on a roller coaster and the ride goes backwards, the car reversed backwards, 'what's going on?'" he described.
Crews worked overnight to fix the pipe, which dated back to the 1880's.
Around 300 affected customers are now under a boil water notice for 48 hours.
Asphalt is expected come in Tuesday, so crews can begin work to repair the road.
Aging pipes
There's a new focus on the aging pipes in downtown Orlando.
The pipe that burst Monday in downtown Orlando was put underground in the 1880’s.
According to OUC spokesperson Tim Trudell, the life expectancy of a pipe varies with several different variables.
"It's going to be different every situation" Trudell said. "You are going to have water main breaks that occur because a truck hit a hydrant, because the truck makes the hydrant push the water pressure up, causing a problem there."
The total cost to fix this water main break has not been determined as of yet.
Back in October, another pipe burst on Summerlin Avenue -- that one was about 80 years old. At the time OUC, said they were considering ways to deal with the aging water line.