Water Main Break Closes Streetcar Indefinitely, Snarls Traffic

Water main break at N. Broadway and E. Wisconsin Ave. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.

A Wednesday afternoon water main break at a busy downtown intersection is causing several problems days later, and will likely continue to be an issue for several days into the future.

It’s the second break to occur in as many years to occur at the intersection of N. Broadway and E. Wisconsin Avenue, but the nature of the latest break is having a far greater impact.

Just before 5 p.m. Wednesday, several manhole covers in the area were shaking while brown water streamed out, flowing downhill on E. Wisconsin Avenue toward the Milwaukee River.

As a result, The Hop streetcar system was shut down, buses and other vehicles were detoured and two buildings are without power. A We Energies utility vault was flooded, resulting in “substantial damage.” Individuals familiar with the incident have described a “void” forming underground, where soil and a portion of the vault structure was washed away near the north-south streetcar tracks and utility infrastructure.

Several We Energies crew members were on site Friday afternoon assessing the extent of the damage and cutting open the street, while the Milwaukee Water Works‘ contractor, Mid City Corporation, awaited access to address the water main.

“We have all available resources addressing the issue and we are working to minimize the impact from this water main break,” said a We Energies spokesperson in a statement Friday morning.

The company did not give a timeline for when the work might be completed, nor did city officials about when the streetcar might be able to return to service.

No damage is known to have occurred to the streetcar track, nor the station located just south of the intersection. But a portion of the water main repair work will need to occur below the track itself because of where the wash out occurred.

The 20-story Two Fifty building and the 20-story AT&T building, 722-740 N. Broadway are without electrical service as a result of their electrical equipment flooding. The Two Fifty building is dark, while the AT&T building, a central communications hub, appears to be operating with at least some backup generator service.

The 12-inch main that broke was originally installed in 1884 according to the Milwaukee Water Works. It’s from the same year, but a different pipe segment than the 2021 break.

The November 2021 break resulted in the partial closure of the intersection and substantial damage to equipment in the basement of the Railway Exchange Building, 229 E. Wisconsin Ave. The 2023 break caused only minor flooding in the office building’s basement.

We Energies reported that its steam tunnel system does not appear to have been damaged by the latest break. Prior water penetrations, including the 2021 break, have caused steam to burst out of the system across the network. A 2020 penetration did millions in damage to We Energies’ own headquarters.

Due to the nature of the water distribution network, one thing that ironically wasn’t interrupted was water service. All nearby buildings continue to have access to clean water, though a temporary connection connects one property.

All Milwaukee County Transit System buses using E. Wisconsin Avenue are using detours of westbound on E. Mason Street and eastbound on E. Michigan Street. The eastbound Connect 1 bus rapid transit station between N. Water Street and N. Broadway is partially covered in debris carried away from the break.

Based on the timing of repairs, Monday’s Labor Day Parade could also need to be rerouted.

Those traveling through the area should expect delays, even on parallel streets.

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Second water main leak in two years at Wisconsin and Broadway pic.twitter.com/qJQfixQVoM

— Jeramey Jannene (@compujeramey) August 30, 2023