Waterline break in Boardman keeps crews busy overnight

Staff report

BOARDMAN

Township officials hoped multiple waterline breaks along Southern Boulevard that heaved the road and tied up traffic along Southern and U.S. Route 224 Wednesday afternoon and evening would be fixed by this morning’s traffic.

“We’re keeping our fingers crossed,” said Jason Loree, Boardman Township administrator.

Loree said Youngstown Water Department crews were scheduled to work through the night to repair multiple waterline breaks along Southern Boulevard.

An already-busy road was gridlocked Wednesday afternoon after a water-main break shut down part of Route 224.

The breaks may have been caused by a truck hitting a fire hydrant at 224 and Southern Boulevard.

Loree said, however, that it is undetermined if the truck caused the damage because fire hydrants are designed to shear off on impact to prevent collateral damage.

Part of 224 was shut down for some time, and a stretch of Southern Boulevard was closed even longer.

Township Fire Chief Mark Pitzer reported heavy traffic in the area just after 3 p.m., noting that 224 traffic was backed up all the way to South Avenue around that time.

Traffic was congested – but moving – after 224 opened back up.

A city water department foreman also said it’s unclear whether the truck accident caused the break, but said his crew found a large hole in a main line under Southern Boulevard that crosses 224.

After the break was reported about 2:30 p.m., responders from the township fire, police and road departments, Ohio State Highway Patrol, city water department and Mahoning County Engineer’s office came to the scene.

According to Boardman police, water had not been turned back on in that area as of Wednesday night.

Loree described the situation as a “nightmare” due to the fact that it occurred at one of the township’s busiest intersections, which also is home to the main fire station.

“It’s quite the mess,” he said. “Whenever you have a water-main break, it’s not ideal. But this is definitely a bad location.”

Complicating the situation was that the break left the fire station without water, a fact that officials were trying to resolve.