The city of Durango is replacing a water line beneath the Animas River after the line cracked about a month ago.
Work on the pipe near the intersection of Camino del Rio and 12th Street behind River City Hall started on Monday.
It is expected to be completed by the end of next week, Utilities Director Steve Salka said. The project is estimated to cost $112,000.
The line was about 60 years old and likely cracked because of its age, he said.
“It broke along the shoreline, but instead of just fixing it, we are going to replace it all the way under the river,” he said.
No one has lost water service during the project because the pipe serves just to increase water pressure to the west side of town near the Durango Skate Park, he said.
Crews are building a coffer dam to divert water before they dig a trench across the river for the new pipe.
The pipe will be encased in concrete and buried about five feet underground, he said.
The crew also is removing junk metal from the river that it came across during construction, he said.
The city maintains 36 water and sewer lines that cross the river.
mshinn@durangoherald.com
