Construction will begin Tuesday on a new water line at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford as part of a shared project with the Bradford Water Authority.
During the construction, which will last through mid-August, the campus will be under complete excavation to lay new water lines and connect them to all buildings on the campus “loop.”
Anyone coming to campus is asked to use extra caution this summer and watch for directional signs. Walkers who want to access the Tuna Valley Trail Association’s Richard E. McDowell Community Trail should park at the trail head across from the Kessel Athletic Complex on Campus Drive. Brief power and water outages may require some buildings to be closed for short periods of time.
“As the Water Authority continues to improve the waterline system from the reservoir, the university is upgrading its system as well to provide redundant supply in case of any future catastrophic breaks in the main line,” said Rhett Kennedy, director of facilities management.
During a period of sub-zero temperatures in February 2015, a water authority main line carrying water from the city’s main reservoir to the city burst near Blaisdell Hall, spilling 5 million gallons and causing the university and public schools to close during a declared state of emergency.
Since then, the authority has completed an $11.5 million dollar project to install a 6-mile redundant water transmission line from the West Corydon Street water treatment plant to the main finished water reservoir above the city of Bradford.
In addition, several new large diameter gate valves have been installed across the system to allow for effective and efficient shut downs and re-routing of water service in the event of any future catastrophic main line failures.