Roosa Avenue will remain closed through April 22 while the city of Durango Streets Division replaces a collapsed section of stormwater drain pipe.
The extended closure affects Roosa Avenue, north of Ninth Street, south of Avenida del Sol and south of the skate park entrance. The closure began April 3.
“What happened was we found out that we had a 48-inch storm sewer pipe that had collapsed,” said Joey Medina, streets manager for the city of Durango. “We went in there to take a look at the severity of it and we noticed that it started washing out material and cavitating underneath the road.”
The collapsed pipe was discovered by camera equipment inserted from the west and east sides of the pipe.
“We found out that the pipe was in pretty bad shape and that if we didn’t get it repaired, over a period of time things could have gotten worse,” Medina said.
The pipe carries all the runoff from the west side of town near Manna. Before investigating with cameras, crews had noticed the pipe taking in an excess amount of water. Then they discovered dirt washing out below the east side of Roosa Ave.
“And so if we didn’t go in there and do repair work on it, there’s the possibility that it could have washed out even farther and caused more damage to the road,” Medina said.
Crews are replacing about a 100-foot section of pipe. The cause is believed to be from normal wear and tear, said Medina, who added that the pipes surrounding it still look to be in good shape.
gjaros@durangoherald.com
