A broken water pipe on La Cruz closed the street.
A water main on La Cruz, installed back in 1953 when the street was paved, ruptured around 6:45 a.m. today.
Kevin Niles, the adjutant for American Legion Ronald Reagan Post 283 located at the corner of Swarthmore and La Cruz, said that the initial pipe rupture was spectacular with sprays of water reaching the second story of Village School’s Arts and Sciences center across the street.
Department of Water and Power crews responded, and the street was closed at Alma Real and partially closed at Swarthmore, to not only allow post office patrons access to the post office, but to allow mail trucks continued egress and ingress.
A DWP employee told Circling the News around 9 a.m. that it would take about four to six hours to repair the pipe.
The street, La Cruz, was also buckled by the exploding water. It has been in need of repairs for years, because portions of it have what is called “alligator cracking.”
In an earlier story, CTN noted that the term “alligator cracking” is used by Street Services, and according to Pavemanpro.com, “Alligator cracking is a load-associated structural failure. The failure can be due to weakness in the surface, base or sub grade; a surface or base that is too thin; poor drainage or the combination of all three. It often starts in the wheel path as longitudinal cracking and ends up as alligator cracking after severe distress.”
CTN contacted Community Council President David Card and alerted him to the water-pipe damage and the state of the street.
In a subsequent note to Councilman Mike Bonin’s field deputy Noah Fleishman, Card wrote: “See if that whole street can be redone between Sunset and Swathmore. It’s one of the most heavily traveled in the business district, except for Sunset.”
In addition to the post office, Seven Arrows and Village School are located on La Cruz, as well as Mathnasium and Palisades Garden Cafe.