OCEANSIDE (CBS 8) – Several lanes of south El Camino Real are still closed Thursday night as crews work to repair a broken water main and large sinkhole.
Oceanside Water District crews arrived on scene Wednesday evening at
and found that a 30-inch ductile iron pipe had burst. Crews say a driver reported that area roads were under water around 7:00 p.m.
The sinkhole forced the closure of northbound lanes on
between
and
. Police recommended drivers detour north on
and west on Mesa Drive.
The sinkhole is about 13 feet wide and 20 feet long and 10 feet deep.
"It still should have another 25 years left in the system,” said Kelvin Harris with the Oceanside Water District. “At this point we're just excavating where a water line had failed."
Crews say area homes are not impacted because the pipe is a 1988 transitional pipe that runs from one reservoir to another reservoir.
"We're trying to make sure we don't damage any utilities and still leave everything in tact the best we can," explained Harris.
Repairs started Thursday morning and are expected to last until Saturday. Water has been restored to the area.