Parkway's Underground Repairs Nearly Complete

By WYDaily Staff Monday, January 10, 2011

The Colonial Parkway detour due to a water main break is still in place, but Newport News Waterworks announced it has repaired the 42-inch raw water pipeline and is working on finalizing underground work.

A break was noticed last week on the Colonial Parkway in York County, between the Parkway Drive overpass and Hubbard Lane. The National Park Service, which operates the route, decided to close the road because of concerns about icing and the staging area for repairs. Crews had to manage a nearby natural gas pipeline as they excavated the site to determine extent of the damage.

Crews will be finalizing the underground work Monday and, weather permitting, will fill the excavation site Tuesday, Jan. 11.

The focus will then turn to road repair. Because the Colonial Parkway is paved with exposed aggregate concrete and not asphalt, road repair will require additional time.

Waterworks plans to have the site ready for concrete by the end of the week and has contracted with Pembroke Construction to execute the concrete work. The National Park Service will coordinate with Pembroke on the concrete specifications. Once the replacement concrete is poured and brushed, it could take upwards of 28 days to cure, according to Parkway officials.

Motorists should be advised that the National Park Service closed the Colonial Parkway from Parkway Drive to Route 199. The decision to reopen the Parkway remains the responsibility of the National Park Service, the owner of the Parkway, and they will do so when they deem the road safe for travel. Waterworks continues to work closely with officials at Colonial National Historical Park to minimize the duration of the road closure. Read more about the break here.