Water main damaged at Piney Junction
Several businesses and residences on the city’s west side were without water after a contractor damaged the 12-inch main at the intersection of highways 270 west and 227 Tuesday morning, the city of Hot Springs said.
“Most of the water is back on now,” Hot Springs Utilities Director Monty Ledbetter said. “We were able to isolate the area where the contractor hit the line. The biggest problem is Burgers & More. We’re trying to get water to them from a different direction. At the most we should only have four or five people out of water during the process of getting it repaired.
“It was eight or 10 a few minutes ago. Now we’ve got it down to four or five people. The way we’ve got the valves situated we’re able to get most of the water back on. It looks like Burgers & More is probably going to be out for a while. They’re
on that 12-inch main that has to be repaired.”
Ledbetter said the contractor was probably relocating natural gas lines to accommodate the widening of Highway 270 west from the intersection west to Fleetwood Drive.
“They’re probably relocating utilities out there for the gas company, and this is the contractor that works for them,” he said.
The Arkansas Department of Transportation confirmed the contractor was relocating utilities when it hit the water main.
“It was a plumbing contractor relocating a utility line that struck a city waterline,” ArDOT Deputy Director and Chief Operating Officer Randy Ort said.