A portion of Southeast Bayshore Drive will need to be repaved again next spring after a water line broke near Flintstone Park after the road was recently repaved.

City crews made an emergency repair after the break was discovered on Oct. 11.

The area has been covered with steel plates until the repair can be done, which Bridges said is slated for Monday. Krieg Construction will do the repair and did the initial repaving project.

Oak Harbor City Engineer Jim Bridges said the decades-old pipe broke close to a spot where it had already been repaired 25 years ago. During Tuesday’s council meeting, he cited soft soils and heavy equipment used during the recent road repaving as factors for why the pipe broke. The council voted to approve the $36,400 emergency repair.

“When the waterline broke it actually lifted pavement off the ground,” and created a bubble, Bridges said.

Engineering staff decided 40 feet of the water pipe needs to be replaced.

Typically, streets with new pavement aren’t allowed to be cut for five years afterward, Bridges explained. A 25-by-100 feet long strip of the road will need to be repaved next spring after crews put in a temporary patch on the road after the fix.

Southeast Bayshore Drive was added to the city’s 2020 Street Overlay Project this summer for $141,810, according to a change order presented to city council in September. The total cost of the project was brought to $808,154 after Southeast Bayshore Drive was added.

“It’s a sad situation. (The pavement) hadn’t been on the ground for a week,” Bridges said.

The affected businesses will have their water shut off Monday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Bridges said, and have been notified.