Manatee Avenue to be closed in downtown Bradenton for about 2 weeks after water main break

Three blocks of Manatee Avenue will be shut down for approximately two weeks after a depression formed at the intersection with 10th Street West in downtown Bradenton not long after a water main break occurred Thursday afternoon.

A Frontier Communications contractor was drilling when they drilled through 10-inch water main, sending a stream of water pouring down the road. As water was pouring out, soil underneath the road was being washed away, according to Jim McLellan, director of the City of Bradenton public works department.

When the water was shut off and it stopped flowing underneath the pavement, the lack of soil caused the depression to form, McLellan explained.

At the direction of Florida Department of Transportation, the city shut down Manatee Avenue West from Ninth Street to 12th Street. The road will remain closed for about two weeks while the water main and the roadway repairs are conducted, according to McLellan.

The city is hoping to be able to open the inside lane at some point but the outside lane is anticipated to remain closed throughout the repairs. Tenth Street West is also partially blocked from Manatee Avenue to Fourth Avenue.

The depression formed at the northeast corner of the intersection and repairs were underway Thursday. The city has contracted the Bradenton construction company Woodruff & Sons to handle the work.

“The water pipe repair is relatively simple,” McLellan said. “But there is significant road reconstruction that needs to be done.”

McLellan said the repairs to the water main are expected to be completed by Friday. On Monday, excavation will begin to repair the roadway. The work will be supervised by FDOT, he added, to ensure the roadway is repaired to state standards.

A crack in the road was also visible half a block away, across from the parking garage. The Bradenton Fire Marshal and the Florida Department of Transportation workers were also on scene.

The 400 block of 10th Street West was blocked and water to multiple downtown buildings was shut off while crews worked on the repairs on Thursday.

The city will be looking to the contractor that drilled into the water main to be re-compensated for the cost of repairs, McLellan said.

This story was originally published August 2, 2018 at 12:45 PM.