CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — A temporary street closure in downtown Corpus Christi may be a sign of things to come as hot and dry conditions continue in the Coastal Bend.
The City's Water Department began emergency road work Monday evening after a 12-inch cast iron water main broke on Tancahua Street this weekend. That street remained closed Tuesday as work continued.
Wesley Nebgen with the City of Corpus Christi said every summer we go through water pressure changes, usually due to bursting or breaking water pipes.
"It broke. It fractured and when it did, it damaged some other infrastructure, a wastewater line and a storm water line in the area," Nebgen said.
Nebgen said although water was disrupted right after the break for two nearby offices, alternate water was provided right away. He added that the section of water pipe that broke was already on schedule to be upgraded, so the City decided to redo the whole two blocks all at once.
Nebgen said although the City has already replaced hundreds of old cast iron water mains, we can likely expect to see more broken water mains thanks to the heat and dry conditions this summer.
"Anytime you have dry conditions, the drought, the soils we have in Corpus Christi with the clay, they shift a lot," Nebgen said. "When that happens, older pipes do break."
Nebgen emphasized that the break did not affect any residents in the area. He said installation of the new pipe should be complete in the next couple of days and then they will reopen that section of Tancahua Street.
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