Updated at 1:46 p.m.

The City of Edmonds says it has completed temporary repairs on the broken water main on Pioneer Way, but will keep the road closed for now due to stability concerns.

“We are concerned about the stability of the road and the supporting rockery,”  City Street and Stormwater Manager Tod Moles said Thursday afternoon. “Crews will be doing some vegetation clearing on top of the rockery (as well as cleaning up a big mess) so we can assess the extent of the erosion.

“Pioneer Way will remain closed and the (Shell Valley) access road will be open until Tuesday at the very least,” Moles added.

Posted at 10 a.m.
The City of Edmonds Water Department has repaired the broken Pioneer Way water main and is now in the process of re-establishing water pressure to locals residents, said City Street and Stormwater Manager Tod Moles.

It appears that the break was caused by a settling of the road and storm system on top of the main, Moles said. “As you can see in the picture, the storm is essentially laying on the water main,” he said. “We are making temporary repairs to the storm system to create a gap between the two utilities.”

After the New Year, the storm department will make a more permanent repair, adjusting a catch basin that has settled and replacing the concrete storm line with a plastic one, Moles said. Damage to the road was less than feared at first, so the city anticipates it will be able to open the road by the end of the day. “We got very lucky where this break took place,” he said.