Water Main Breaks, Ties Up Traffic Near Airport

More than a million gallons of water from a ruptured water main flooded the streets near Lindbergh Field on Wednesday morning, causing massive traffic problems for motorists and airport travelers.

Hundreds of people missed flights because of delays as long as two hours after a 16-inch, cast-iron pipe burst about 5 a.m. near the Laurel Street and Harbor Drive intersection.

About 20 police officers were needed to direct cars around the area, which was described as a “mess,” by officials and bystanders.

While city workers scrambled to repair the damage, many businesses went without water for the entire morning. Most water service was restored by 12:30 p.m., officials said.

“That is a pretty critical intersection,” said Yvonne Rehg, a San Diego Water Utilities Department spokeswoman. “(The burst main) was a major feeder line that had smaller lines coming off of it.”

Rehg blamed the break on a shift in the ground caused by colder weather and rain. Water mains break more frequently in the winter months, she said.

Workers drained the streets shortly after 10 a.m. and traffic returned to normal, but restoring water service was complicated when a valve burst about 11:15 a.m. as workers tried to turn the water back on.

During the peak morning commute, cars backed up as far as National City on Interstate 5, California Highway Patrol officials said.

While city crews worked on the main, water was cut off to customers on Harbor and Shelter islands and near Harbor Drive to E Street. Nearly all locations near the airport felt a drop in water pressure, Rehg said.

Between 6 and 10 a.m. hundreds of would-be air travelers missed their flights.

A spokesman for PSA said about 500 people had to be rescheduled because they missed flights.

“We were fortunate this happened in mid-week after a holiday, because there was room on all of our flights,” said Bill Hastings, director of corporate communication.

“This was not a day you wanted to be at the airport,” Hastings added.

Indeed, police officials said delays in traffic caused a great deal of tension among stranded motorists.

“People get very upset when they can’t make it to work or the airport on time, and naturally so,” Sgt. M.S. Healy said.

“Half the people where I work were late this morning,” said Robert Colldewidih, a worker at Solar Turbines, which is on Laurel Street across from Lindbergh Field. “It was a mess.”

Police officers closed northbound lanes on Harbor Drive and westbound lanes on Laurel Street while diverting commuters to Pacific Highway, Healy said.

Harbor and Shelter islands remained accessible to traffic but only by way of Nimitz Boulevard and Rosecrans Street, Healy said.

On Shelter Island, the Sheraton Hotel had to dispatch some of its guests to a nearby Holiday Inn to take showers after the hotel lost its water service, a hotel spokeswoman said. The hotel is host for a convention of football coaches from the National Collegiate Athletic Assn., and the guests have been tolerant of the inconvenience, said Nancy Eckis, public affairs director.

The coaches “have all been very gracious,” she said.

At Anthony’s Seafood Grotto, the normally bustling restaurant couldn’t open until about 12:30 p.m. and lost about 400 customers, said Nancy Sparks, restaurant general manager.

“It was a pretty bad day,” she said.

Water officials said it would probably take workers about 24 hours to replace the broken pipe. In the interim, alternate water mains will be used, Rehg said.

An airport spokesman said that runways at Lindbergh Field were not affected by the flooding.