Amherst Alley Steam Leak to Be Repaired This Summer
Amherst Alley Steam Leak to Be Repaired This Summer
A steam leak under Amherst Alley between Burton-Conner and the tennis bubble will be repaired this summer, but until then, steel plates will remain in the road covering the site of the leak.
Work began in the area to fix “what we thought was a relatively minor leak,” but turned out be a break in the pipe’s insulation jacket, said Randall D. Preston, Director of Utilities for Facilities. It was a “bigger problem than we originally thought,” he said.
Preston said that the problems have not affected the heat or hot water services the steam provides.
The repair work would take about two months to complete and would cost about $300,000.
There are two options for the repair, Preston said. Facilities could replace the piping in the trench, or they could re-route that section of steam pipe.
Preston said that Facilities would probably have to replace sections of piping to the west of Burton-Conner in the future, but that there are no definitive plans to do so. They have not yet determined what will be replaced when.
Amherst Alley is the extension of Amherst Street west of Massachusetts Avenue in front of dorm row.
—John A. Hawkinson