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***UPDATE 4:00 PM 1/24/25: Traffic detour on section of West Superior Street to remain in place through weekend***

[DULUTH, MN] The section of West Superior Street affected by yesterday's water main break will remain closed through the weekend due to delays in the related roadwork. Please continue to observe the traffic controls in place at the site. The work is expected to be completed on Monday, at which time the detour will be lifted.

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City of Duluth Utility Operations crews work to repair water main in busy section of downtown today

[DULUTH, MN] City of Duluth Utility Operations crews were dispatched at 10:54 pm last night to a possible water main break. Crews responded to find water bubbling out of the roadway at Mesaba Avenue and West Superior Street. They worked immediately to locate valves and shut down the main, closing westbound Superior Street at Sixth Avenue W and Eastbound traffic on West Superior Street near the viaduct. Crews were on site of the break to make repairs beginning early this morning. Upon excavation, crews located a large split on the original 1880s 16” cast iron water main. The split main was replaced with a new one by City of Duluth crews by noon today, and water service has been restored to the affected area.

As of 3:30 PM the excavation site was in the process of being backfilled. Remaining roadwork is anticipated to be completed sometime tomorrow. The temporary detour on Superior Street will remain in place until that work is completed. Downbound Mesaba Avenue is anticipated to be opened to traffic early this evening.

During the incident, water spilled from the broken main, leaving slippery/icy spots on the I-35 on-ramp, as well as spots on Railroad Street. Street Maintenance crews have been working to remove ice from City of Duluth roadways this afternoon and will monitor those spots going forward for possible future slick spots. MNDOT is also working to abate ice buildup on the I-35 freeway.

The City would like to thank those affected for their patience during this time. A Northland Alert has been sent to those in the affected area.

To see current utility outages, please view the Outage Map: https://duluthmn.maps.arcgis.com/apps/Viewer/index.html?appid=7a03e4fdeb13451c89f4388105946a35%20.

To sign up for Northland Alerts, please visit https://member.everbridge.net/index/453003085616005#/signup.

Special thanks to City of Duluth utility operations and street maintenance crews, as well as partners at MNDOT, who were hard at work in subzero temperatures for many hours today and last night to repair and restore water service and open roadways back up.

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