SANTA ROSA BEACH – The emergency replacement of a cracked stormwater pipe will limit vehicle traffic to a single lane on a short section of Walton County Road 30A through Thursday.
Chance Powell, the county’s transportation engineer, said the crack in the 18-inch thermoplastic pipe was discovered after the county crews discovered a slope on the east side of 30A a short distance east of County Road 393 near Blue Gulf Drive had.
The rift was confirmed after crews sent a video camera into the pipe to examine it, Powell said.
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A short section of the east-facing side of 30A near the pipe was closed as pipe replacement resumed Wednesday, with flagmen moving traffic to the west-facing lane around the repair site, Powell explained.
By Wednesday noon, traffic was moving around the repair site fairly smoothly and quickly as traffic alternated between vehicles heading east and west.
The paved pedestrian and bike path on the east side of 30A remained open but narrowed to allow passage around the repair site.
While repairs continue, the westward lane will be closed to vehicular traffic, Powell said. Powell said both lanes of 30A in the area of the damaged pipe should be open sometime on Thursday, except in bad weather.
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The cracked rainwater pipe had been in operation for more than 20 years.
“These pipes succumb to gravity,” explained Powell, noting that rainfall events over time can also cause problems with the pipes.
The need to restrict traffic to several hundred feet 30A, a popular tourist route, comes at the height of the spring break when there are significant numbers of vehicles traveling. For Powell, however, the current traffic restriction was a matter of perspective.
“There is never a good time,” he said.
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