A 20-Inch Main Splits in Two on Las Virgenes Road
A burst water main in Calabasas shut down Las Virgenes Road in both directions Sunday evening and kept the busy canyon corridor closed for more than a day, before crews reopened the road Tuesday.
A 20-inch water main split in two on Las Virgenes Road in Calabasas, flooding the road and forcing a full closure from Mulholland Highway to Lost Hills Road on Sunday evening. Crews spent a day and a half on the repair, and the canyon reopened to traffic Tuesday.
A burst water main in Calabasas shut down Las Virgenes Road in both directions Sunday evening and kept the busy canyon corridor closed for more than a day, before crews reopened the road Tuesday.
According to the Lost Hills station of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, a water main break on Las Virgenes Road prompted the closure of the road from Mulholland Highway to Lost Hills Road. The announcement went out Sunday evening, with officials expecting the closure to last several hours.
The break turned out to be a much larger job than first reported. The Las Virgenes Municipal Water District confirmed that a section of the 20-inch cast iron pipe had split down the middle, sending a flood of water down the canyon and washing away part of the roadway in the affected section.
Public Works personnel were on scene from Sunday evening, working to stop the flow of water and repair the damaged pipe. Because the flood of water had washed away a section of the road, crews were also tasked with repaving the roadway before it could be reopened.
The repair work stretched into Monday night, and the road was repaved before the road was reopened in the early hours of Tuesday morning. By Tuesday, Las Virgenes Road was once again open to traffic in the canyon.
During the closure, drivers were advised to avoid the area and use an alternate route. The Lost Hills Sheriff's Station said the closure was expected to last several hours, but the scope of the damage extended the shutdown well past the initial estimate.
The water main break also affected service for some customers in the area while crews worked to restore the pipe. Service was reported to have been restored as the road reopened.
The incident was part of a string of water main breaks in the region this season. The Las Virgenes Municipal Water District serves the Calabasas area and operates the water system along the canyon.
This article was generated with AI assistance.