Burst pipes in Victoria and Kenbridge affects road and residents, VDOT urges caution, closures due to ice
Published 9:15 am Tuesday, January 9, 2018
Numerous incidents of flooding due to burst pipes have displaced residents in the Town of Victoria and a vehicle accident Tuesday had been cited due to slick roads, according to Victoria Town Manager and Victoria Fire & Rescue Chief Rodney Newton and Kenbridge Town Manager Robyn Fowler.
Fowler said in an email that water line breakages have been taking place due to the cold weather earlier last week and thawing temperatures Tuesday.
“The cold temperatures have affected some of our water lines,” Fowler said Tuesday. “Our maintenance crew had 2 water line breaks on New Year’s Eve and one of those was a 10″ line. A 3/4″ line was repaired on another day and a few more breaks have occurred during this cold weather. More lines are breaking since the temperatures have been rising and everything is thawing out.”
Fowler thanked crews for their work.
“We really appreciate our crews working so diligently in the very cold conditions,” Fowler said.
Newton said burst pipes have displaced several residents in two buildings at the Village Estates apartment complex on 642 K-V Road in Victoria last Wednesday.
“We had two buildings that were flooded at Village Estates apartments due to frozen water lines,” Newton said, who said he did not know where the residents had been moved. “Management had relocated several residents.”
Newton said a similar incident had displaced residents in four apartments at the Victoria Place apartment complex on 1409 Tidewater Ave. He said the complex management have moved the residents away from the apartments until the apartments have been repaired.
“We did have four apartments there that were damaged there due to a water leak,” Newton said.
Newton said a frozen pipe had potentially caused flooding to the STEPs Inc. location on 300 Court St. Monday evening.
“We did have a water leak there, probably from a frozen pipe,” Newton said.
He said he is unsure if the leaks have caused employees to be displaced from the office.
Newton cited that on Tuesday morning, a vehicle accident had taken place off of Rubermont Road in Victoria.
“We had one (Tuesday) morning off of Rubermont Road as a result of black ice,” Newton said.
He said one of more of the motorists involved had been transported to a nearby hospital.
A representative of the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) has discussed actions taken by the organization to improve roads in the Heart of Virginia from the icy conditions and urged caution for motorists on the road today, particularly as numerous vehicle accidents have taken place in the area.
Spokeswoman Paula Jones with VDOT said the organization has received reports from the Heart of Virginia about road conditions.
“Crews have been out,” Jones said. “They did apply pre-treatment on major roadways over the last several days and main areas starting over the weekend. They have been applying abrasives and salt and sand as appropriate in trouble areas. So if things have been reported, we have been addressing them, and we have been monitoring conditions.”
Jones said while weather is set to be warmer today, road temperatures are often colder than air temperatures.
“The air temperature in many areas is above freezing at this time,” Jones said. “However, the road surfaces are colder because that have been such cold temperatures recently that the road surfaces have not warmed above freezing in many locations.”
She urged motorists to be careful to drive safely to avoid vehicle accidents.
“If people have to be on the roadway today, certainly allowing extra time this morning before getting on the roadway,” Jones said. “If you must be out, use extreme caution, travel slowly. Make very steady turns, don’t turn abruptly. The biggest thing with these icy conditions, it’s not a matter of getting going, it’s a matter of stopping. So allow extra time between yourself and other vehicles if you must travel.”
Icy conditions throughout the Heart of Virginia have prompted closures in area schools and organizations.
Lunenburg County Public Schools closed schools Tuesday, according to an announcement on the division’s social media page.
Officials from the Piedmont Senior Resources Area Agency on Aging announced Tuesday that its friendship cafes in Buckingham and Lunenburg are closed and home delivered meal routes in Buckingham and Lunenburg counties will operate on a two hour delay.