A boil water advisory was issued for the Clairmont Road area Thursday night as work continued on a water main break that has closed the road since Wednesday.
In order to complete the repairs, water pressure must be reduced, which could create a potential health hazard, DeKalb County spokesman Burke Brennan said. The affected area is bound on the north by Plaster Road, to the east by I-85, to the south by Briarwood, and to the west by Buford Highway.
Citizens in that area should boil all water before use for drinking, cooking or preparing baby food until further notice.
Two lanes of Clairmont Road — one northbound and one southbound — opened late Thursday afternoon on the heavily-traveled Brookhaven, easing traffic woes created by the closure.
A complication with repairs to the ruptured water main had delayed the opening of any lanes on Thursday, authorities said.
The remaining lanes and turning lane remained closed Thursday between I-85 and Century Center, a stretch of road that runs northwest of the interstate.
DeKalb County Watershed crews expect to have the break repaired sometime Thursday evening, Brookhaven officials said.
Just before 6 a.m. Thursday, a new section of 30-inch pipe arrived at the site to replace the broken pipe.
The break happened around noon Wednesday.
Brennan said Thursday that 200 to 300 customers, including a nearby Holiday Inn Express hotel, were without water.
Bob Webb was one of the guests with Wednesday night reservations at the Holiday Inn Express.
Webb said when he arrived at 4 p.m., he found traffic in the area snarled and was told he couldn’t get to the hotel because of the closed road.
He made his way to the hotel by winding through a nearby construction area, and decided to stay despite the water problems.
“I’d rather live without water than face their traffic out here,” said Webb, who is from Fairhope, Ala.“I bypass Atlanta whenever I can, and 4 o’clock in the afternoon is no time to be here. I would have stayed there without electricity.”
While some guests left and went to other hotels, the lack of water “wasn’t that bad,” he said, adding that he went to a nearby store “and bought a five-gallon bottle of water and flushed the toilets and everything’s OK.”
“Things happen and you’ve got to learn to bounce around it a little bit,” Webb said.
DeKalb Watershed officials didn’t know the cause of the break, but Brennan said there is a chance the broken pipe may have been due to be switched out.
“We’re in the middle of a $1.35 billion water/sewer upgrade,” he said. “Some of the pipes DeKalb has are up to 50 years old. We’re not sure yet the age of this particular pipe, but it may need to be replaced anyway.”
State and local officials remained on hand during Thursday’s morning rush hour to help commuters negotiate what is normally a heavily-traveled route.
Brookhaven Police Lt. Brandon Gurley said reports of a possible sinkhole were called in to police and city officials around 12:30 p.m.
“Police determined the roadway was not safe,” Gurley said. “This section of the road is closed in both directions and will be for an undetermined amount of time.”
Early Wednesday afternoon, a steady flow of water gurgled up from beneath cracks all over the stretch of road, running the width of the five lanes there.
Because that stretch of road is maintained by the state, Georgia Department of Transportation officials will be out to put up signage to help motorists navigate the detours that will be needed to get around the closed roadway, authorities said.
“You need to avoid this section of Clairmont,” Gurley said. “Fortunately, there are some cut-through areas, so it’s not difficult to detour around.”
Suggestions include taking the I-85 access road to Briarwood Road or Shallowford Road to Dresden Drive, according to 95.5 FM and AM 750 News/Talk WSB.
—Staff writer Mike Morris, Angel K. Brooks and photographer John Spink contributed to this article.
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