With Water Restored After 16-Inch Waterline Break at 21st St., Peoria Ave., Crews Repairing Street, Installing New Waterline

1/19/2018

With water service restored after an older 16-inch waterline broke earlier this week on East 21^st Street at South Peoria Avenue, work has begun to repair damage to the street and install a new 16-inch waterline. The streets have been swept to remove mud that accumulated when the waterline break caused flooding.

A contractor has poured concrete on the north side of 21^st Street just west of Peoria Avenue, and asphalt is scheduled to be laid on Saturday, Jan. 20. The contractor also is setting up traffic control for two-way traffic, and the traffic signal at Peoria has been set to flash red in all four directions during this project.

After the pavement cures over the weekend, it is likely that two lanes of traffic can be opened on 21^st Street through the intersection – one eastbound lane and one westbound lane – by early next week, with access to northbound Peoria Avenue.

Meanwhile, another contractor has begun work to install the new waterline. Workers are identifying and exposing the existing utilities in the intersection so that they avoid any issues as they begin laying the new line.

Nearing the end of its lifespan, this 16-inch waterline was scheduled for replacement as part of an upcoming Improve Our Tulsa street rehabilitation project for the 21^st and Peoria intersection. Because the waterline broke this week and damaged the street, it will be replaced now, while the street is being repaired around it.

Located just west of Peoria Avenue on 21^st Street, the portion of waterline that failed is not the same waterline that was installed as part of the recently completed street reconstruction project on 21^st Street between Peoria Avenue and Lewis Avenue. That project included new waterline up to 300 feet east of the Peoria intersection.

The current waterline construction has begun on 21^st Street at Owasso Avenue (west of Peoria), working east to the location where the completed project stopped (300 feet east of Peoria). When the waterline has been installed across Peoria Avenue, the street will be paved over the waterline, and full traffic can be restored on Peoria Avenue. Traffic on 21^st Street will remain one lane in each direction until the waterline replacement is complete. Completion of the entire project is estimated for four weeks, including testing the new waterline and restoring the pavement.