Expect road closures in downtown New Haven as crews make repairs after a broken water main created a sinkhole on College Street earlier this week.
Monday's water main break damaged a Frontier vault near the intersection of College and Crown streets in New Haven. The road was shut down most of the day as water seeped out from under the pavement.
"We had emergency repair services come in, cut out the road, and now we're looking at this traffic pattern for the work that's going to be started as soon as humanly possible," said Doug Hausladen, director of the New Haven Department of Transportation, Traffic and Parking.
Construction kicked off around noon Thursday. College Street is closed from Crown Street to George Street, according to New Haven officials, who warned drivers to expect delays in the area.
Crown Street and College Street will also be narrowed to one lane at the intersection and traffic from College Street will be detoured to Park Street.
"We're going to see a lot of traffic pushed down to High Street, making the turnaround at George, and a lot more people down at Park Street," Hausladen said.
Final paving on College Street, MLK Boulevard and South Frontage Road will take place Monday through Wednesday of next week, causing additional closures, according to the mayor's office.
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College Street will be closed intermittently between George Street and MLK Boulevard between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. Monday. College will be closed between MLK and South Frontage from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday.
Expect additional lane closures on all affected roads and significant traffic congestion.
City officials say the goal is to complete the work by Thanksgiving so traffic changes don't impact any businesses in the area, which will open their doors to Black Friday shoppers.
