UCLA flood: Repaving of Sunset Boulevard sinkhole set to start today

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Workers level out the pavement before laying the asphalt on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles on Sunday, Aug. 3. (Christina House / For The Times)

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Workers prepare to lay asphalt on Sunset Boulevard. (Christina House / For The Times)

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Damaged vehicles are towed out of parking structure 4 at UCLA on Sunday. (Christina House / For The Times)

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Work crews continue repairs to the broken water main along Sunset Boulevard. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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Work crews continue repairs to the water main that ruptured on July 29, sending “more than 20 million gallons” of water coursing across the UCLA campus. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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UCLA students and faculty wait to retrieve their cars Aug. 1 after the vehicles were marooned in one of the two UCLA parking structures flooded after a 90-year-old water main burst earlier in the week. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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Cars are removed from UCLA’s parking structure No. 4. Of the estimated 1,000 stranded vehicles, about 400 were “deemed to be inoperable due to the water damage,” UCLA spokesman Tod M. Tamberg told The Times. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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Work crews continue repairs after the rupture of the water main that flooded the UCLA campus. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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Workers continue the repairs. The water that inundated the UCLA campus drenched the wooden basketball floor of storied Pauley Pavilion. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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Workers on Wednesday assess the damage to a 90-year-old water main that ruptured Tuesday under Sunset Boulevard. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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Los Angeles City Council members and DWP officials assess the damage to the ruptured line. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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Parking structure 7 at UCLA remains flooded. An estimated 900 vehicles are marooned in two garages. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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City Council members with DWP officials at the rupture site. Officials have balked at water rate hikes to repair the aging water lines faster. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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Sand bags line the entrance to UCLA’s Pauley Pavilion on Wednesday, the day after water spewing from a ruptured main under Sunset Boulevard deluged the area. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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Workers clean up near the entrance to UCLA’s Pauley Pavilion on Wednesday, a day after water from a ruptured main on Sunset Boulevard flooded the area. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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A water main break on Sunset Boulevard flooded much of the UCLA campus Tuesday afternoon. A portion of Sunset, one of Los Angeles’ main arteries, was shut down. Cleanup crews arrived to help sweep and shovel away the debris left in the wake of the flood. (Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times)

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DWP employees work after a major water main break sent a torrent of water blasting through Sunset Boulevard north of the UCLA campus, closing Sunset between Veteran and Hilgard avenues and flooding parts of the UCLA campus. (Jabin Botsford / Los Angeles Times)

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Emergency personnel head down into a parking garage below the UCLA athletic field after a major water main break sent water blasting through Sunset Boulevard north of the UCLA campus. Sunset was closed between Veteran and Hilgard avenues while fire crews worked to make sure no motorists were trapped in the water. (Jabin Botsford / Los Angeles Times)

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Firefighters stack sandbags and shovel dirt at Pauley Pavilion after the water main break on Sunset Boulevard. (Jabin Botsford / Los Angeles Times)

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Students wade past Pauley Pavilion after after the water main break on Sunset. (Jabin Botsford / Los Angeles Times)

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A car sits stuck in water after a major water main break on Sunset Boulevard. (Jabin Botsford / Los Angeles Times)

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Water is cleared from the floor of Pauley Pavilion on the UCLA campus after a water main broke on Sunset Boulevard. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

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Water is cleared from the floor of Pauley Pavilion on the UCLA campus after a water main broke on Sunset Boulevard. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

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Clint Svatos takes a break from removing water from the floor of Pauley Pavilion on the UCLA campus after a water main broke on Sunset Boulevard. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

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A man photographs a statue of John R. Wooden outside a flooded Pauley Pavilion at UCLA. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

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Water is cleared from inside Pauley Pavilion on the UCLA campus after a water main broke on Sunset Boulevard. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

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Sonia Curry walks with her children, Fox, 4, and Banjo, 2, on the UCLA campus in Westwood as water from a main break on Sunset Boulevard flooded several streets. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

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DWP workers watch a water main break on Sunset Boulevard near the UCLA campus in Westwood. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

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An LAPD officer monitors the site of a water main break on Sunset Blvd. near the UCLA campus. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

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Jerry Markham, director of design and project management for facilities management at UCLA, wades into a flooded walkway after a water main break on Sunset Boulevard near the UCLA campus. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

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UCLA student Alec Maassen, 21, rides a skim board on a flooded street after a water main break occurred under Sunset Blvd. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

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Water spews from a broken main on Sunset Boulevard near the UCLA campus. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

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Water continued to shoot for several hours from a main break on Sunset Boulevard near the UCLA campus in Westwood. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

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Water from a main break on Sunset Boulevard spills down into a parking garage on the UCLA campus. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

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A massive water break near the UCLA campus left athletic facilities saturated with water. (Ryan Menezes / Los Angeles Times)

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Workers use construction equipment to move earth in an attempt to stop flooding after a massive rupture sent thousands of gallons of water streaming through the UCLA campus. (James Queally / Los Angeles Times)

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Water from a ruptured water main is visible on the UCLA campus. (James Queally / Los Angeles Times)

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A water main break near UCLA left the school’s track under a a substantial amount of water Tuesday. (James Queally / Los Angeles Times)

By Howard BlumeStaff Writer

Aug. 3, 2014 3:13 PM PT

Repaving of a damaged portion of Sunset Boulevard was scheduled to get underway Sunday afternoon five days after a water-main break damaged the thoroughfare and flooded structures at the adjacent UCLA campus.

Officials declined to say when the roadway would reopen.

The break, which occurred at or near the juncture of two trunk lines running underneath Sunset Boulevard, spilled 20 million gallons of water.

The flooding stranded about 960 cars in two parking structures and ruined the floor of Pauley Pavilion -- the school’s storied basketball arena.

The surging stream, which shot upward like a geyser for hours, created a 25-by-30-foot oval sinkhole about seven feet deep, said Joe Ramallo, communications director for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.

Repairing the water main required much more excavation. DWP crews used approximately 400 tons of sand and 540 tons of crushed aggregate to fill the hole.

The cause of the break is under investigation. The L.A. water system has many old underground lines that have been deteriorating.

“At this point, corrosion is suspected,” Ramallo said.

The utility endured heavy criticism from residents and city officials for the length of time needed to shut off the water. The incident began about 3:30 p.m. Tuesday; containing the main flow required about five and a half hours, according to the utility.

Even after the main leak was stopped, about 1,000 gallons per minute poured out for a day.

Ramallo said the smaller flow was about 2% to 5% of what had been flowing. And some, if not most, of that discharge was unavoidable, he added.

“One of the things that can happen when we shut down pipes too fast is that it can damage other pipes,” he said.

The shutdown involved the coordinated control first of three valves and then of nine valves in the area.

“We also had to maintain positive flow and pressure through the pipes to maintain water quality,” added Ramallo. Otherwise, Westside residents would have had to boil water to make sure it was safe.

Turning the tap on again also has risks because fluctuation in pressure in the surrounding area could result in further leaks and breaks.

“The complexity of this job cannot be overstated,” said Ramallo.

The DWP has tentatively assumed responsibility for at least some of the damage, making claim forms available online at www.ladwp.com/claims. They can be emailed to claims@ladwp.com or mailed to:

Los Angeles Department of Water and Power
Attn: Claims Section
P.O. Box 51111, Room 342
Los Angeles, CA 90051-0100

DWP had staff members at UCLA over the weekend to process claims from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. adjacent to Parking Lot 36; the workers are to return Monday.

Twitter: @howardblume