One westbound lane and two eastbound lanes were reopened on Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood on Saturday night, following the repair of a water main that had ruptured the previous day and flooded several streets in the area.
Left turns were still not permitted from westbound Sunset to La Cienega Boulevard, according to a spokesperson for the city of West Hollywood.
At its peak about 10,000 gallons per minute gushed from the broken main in the 8400 block of Sunset (map), which was reported around 2:30 p.m. Friday. About 100 gallons per minute were spewing onto the Sunset Strip on Saturday morning before the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power shut down the pipeline.
After a DWP crew welded a steel cap onto the 98-year-old pipe about 2 p.m., officials gradually reopened more of Sunset until only a two-block stretch remained shut down between North La Cienega Boulevard and North Olive Drive. That section was reopened to traffic shortly after 10:30 p.m.
“I can’t say that this was typical,” said Mark Lucero of the DWP. “This was on a 36-inch main, and we do not get very many leaks on that size of pipe.”
The portion of Sunset that had been excavated was refilled with slurry, which would take about 48 hours to dry, officials said. Final road repairs are scheduled to begin Monday.
The DWP was working to restore water service to 40 to 50 customers in the area.
The nearby Mondrian Los Angeles hotel remained open during the street closure but canceled an 800-guest event. The Comedy Store, which was also open for business Friday, reported unusually small crowds.
KTLA’s John A. Moreno and Ashley Soley-Cerro contributed to this report.
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