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Fifth Avenue Reopens After Water Main Break

By Danielle Tcholakian | January 27, 2014 10:13am
 Fifth Avenue had been closed between 12th and 14th streets following the Jan. 15 water main break.
Fifth Avenue Reopens
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GREENWICH VILLAGE — Fifth Avenue reopened to cars over the weekend, more than a week after a water main break tore a hole in the pavement and sent a deluge of water into nearby buildings.

Fifth Avenue between 12th and 14th streets, as well as 13th Street from University Place to Sixth Avenue, had been closed to traffic since Jan. 15, when a 136-year-old water main broke a little after midnight.

The streets reopened early Saturday morning, according to a Notify NYC alert from the Office of Emergency Management. 

The Department of Environmental Protection was scrambling to get the street repaired last week, with construction workers at the scene around the clock. The repairs were delayed due to last week's snowstorm, but by Friday, officials were able to open one lane on Fifth Avenue, and the road fully reopened the following day.

A DEP spokesman said the agency plans to do final restorations in the spring when the weather improves, including a more permanent resurfacing.

Three New School buildings were affected by the water main break, including the brand-new University Center, which sustained significant damage to its two lower-level floors but still opened to the public on schedule last week.