June Casagrande A broken water main on...

June Casagrande

A broken water main on Newport Boulevard left dozens of businesses

without water and Lido Isle and Peninsula residents without their

main route home Friday afternoon.

Officials predicted that Newport Boulevard would remain closed at

32nd Street through Saturday afternoon while workers tear up the road

to repair the underground water pipe. The boulevard was shut down for

a while midday Friday until workers reopened a single northbound

lane.

The road closures will again go into effect throughout the day on

Tuesday and Wednesday to repair the torn up asphalt, said city Public

Information Officer Marilee Jackson.

Lido Isle residents unable to get to their homes from southbound

Newport Boulevard were directed by police on a circuitous route: To

access Lido Isle, police recommended taking Balboa Boulevard

southbound to Lafayette Avenue, then left onto Newport Boulevard.

Cars can access Lido Isle from northbound Newport Boulevard from the

one open lane. Peninsula residents were left with Balboa Boulevard as

the sole route to get to their homes.

Residents on both sides of Lafayette between 28th and 29th streets

lost water service, as did City Hall. Portable toilets were brought

on site for City Hall workers. Water was restored to nine to 10

buildings in the area about 4 p.m. Friday, Jackson said.

The 1926, 16-inch cast iron pipe broke at about noon Friday under

Newport Boulevard at 32nd Street. The pipe was a water main; it did

not carry sewage. Overflow went into the storm drains, which

prevented flooding, a city spokeswoman said. City Utilities

Department workers planned to work through the night to replace the

one-foot section of pipe.